St. Ann Police Determined to Reduce Motor Vehicle Accidents

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Clifford Herron has said that the St. Ann Police would be working assiduously to ensure a reduction in the number of motor vehicle accidents in the parish.
“We have major challenges on our roads, especially on the A.G. R. Byfield Highway and the Landovery main road. Those are the black spots within our parish,” Mr. Herron told JIS News at a ‘Drive for Life Workshop’, which was held recently at the Eltham Community Centre in Ocho Rios.
“This Drive for Life workshop was well received and it will have tremendous impact on the users of our roads in St. Ann,” he said.
He pointed out that safety measures have already been put in place in some areas of the parish and that plans are in the making to include such measures in other areas.
“There are areas that we have identified and we have lobbied, and so far we have stop lights that have been erected. They are not yet in operation but we are getting there. In St. Ann’s Bay and Ocho Rios we have worked with the National Works Agency (NWA) and the St. Ann Parish Council and we have enacted a number of traffic changes and this has resulted in a great reduction in the traffic congestion in these two towns,” he said.
He informed that plans are well advanced for the refurbishing of the Ocho Rios bus park, which should result in a number of things being done to “ensure that we have a very safe and secure St. Ann in 2008.”
“To all the road users in St. Ann, you are doing yourself a world of good by adhering to the instructions of the Drive for Life workshop. Defensive Driving is the way to go and the life you save might be your very own,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gary Reid from the Oracabessa Taxi Association told JIS News that he learnt a lot from the ‘Drive for Life’ workshop.
“I really appreciate and accept this workshop and I thank the Ministry of Transport and Works for putting this together,” he said, and encouraged other drivers to get with the programme and participate in the workshop whenever it is scheduled for their area.
Representative from the Mile End Taxi Association, Elaine White said: “I have learnt a lot, especially when it comes to the use of the seat belt and I am hoping that we will be able to have another seminar where we can incorporate more associations and get more drivers to attend, so that we can benefit and work towards driving much safer on our roads.”
The ‘Drive for Life’ Public Education Campaign is an initiative of the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Works. It seeks to reduce accidents on the roads by promoting defensive driving principles.
The next workshop will be held at the Old Marina in Port Antonio on Thursday, January 31.