TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY – PM

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said motorists and pedestrians should develop a greater sense of responsibility for their safety and that of others as they use the country’s roadways. She was addressing the launch of the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week in Kingston on Wednesday (Apr. 18) under the theme ‘Road Safety is no Accident’.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said death from road traffic accidents was the second leading cause of premature death and ill-health worldwide and that children are at greater risk. She noted that in Jamaica young males and pedestrians were particularly vulnerable and said a behaviour change campaign focused on young road users was a first step in reducing the incidence of motor vehicle crashes.

“We need to spread the word that road traffic injuries can be avoided and that prevention is the only cure. It is necessary therefore that we seek behaviour change by focusing on young road users which is the group targeted through activities to observe Global Road Safety week,” Mrs. Simpson Miller said.

She said that although there were many valid activities in various sectors that compete for scarce national resources, road safety was high on the national agenda of the government. She said the National Road Safety Policy is the country’s roadmap to reducing road traffic accidents and the associated cost.

The Prime Minister had high hopes for the success of the global campaign, noting that it is modeled on World Health Day 2004 which focused on pedestrian safety. That campaign she said resulted in an unprecedented 50 per cent decrease in child pedestrian fatalities.