Transport Authority and Police Partner to Improve Road Safety

The Transport Authority will be working closely with the police during the upcoming holiday season to instill order and discipline on the roadways so as to reduce road crashes.

Managing Director of the Authority, Donald Foster, said public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators and commuters are being targeted.

“We would be working closely (with the police) during the holiday season to remind PPV operators of their role in ensuring safe commute and encouraging commuters to prioritise safety when selecting public passenger vehicles,” Mr. Foster said, while addressing a JIS Think Tank on December 2.

He said the Agency is implementing a communication campaign dubbed ‘Put Safety First on PPV Rides, Keep Your Dreams Alive’, which is aimed at improving orderliness in the public transportation sector, while underscoring the need for commuters to practice safety as they ride.

In the meantime, Head of the Police Traffic Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen, appealed to motorists and in particular PPV operators, to exercise due care when using the nations streets, particularly during the Yuletide season.

“We implore drivers and conductors of PPVs to comply with the provisions of the Transport Authority Act and the Road Traffic Act concerning wearing badges, uniforms and driving vehicle with doors open. Many times, when breaches occur, it results in a fatality,” he lamented.

He said the police is seeking to engage the owners of PPVs to educate them as to the importance of doing due diligence when hiring drivers for their vehicles.

“It is important that the persons (to whom) you entrust your vehicle to operate on a daily basis, are persons who are mature and responsible and know how to operate on the nation’s streets,” he contended.

He pledged the full support and backing of the JCF to the efforts of the Transport Authority to improve road safety.

“One of the JCF’s strategic priorities is embodied in road safety and public education. The engagement of communities and partnerships are all important in achieving that priority,” he stated.