JCF traffic branch targets motorcycle deaths in push to cut road fatalities

Leaders of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) say a data-driven focus on vulnerable road users is central to efforts to bring annual road deaths below levels Jamaica has rarely reached in five decades.

SSP Lloyd Derby, who heads the branch, said PSTEB was formed in 2018 and now comprises roughly 1,500 members, with headquarters at 16 Lower Elliston Road and assets across the island. The formation leads public order and traffic management through divisions including traffic enforcement, highway and safety patrol, resort area policing, public order, beat officer patrol, and the mounted troop.

Derby and operations officer SSP Winchester Watson told the Force4Good podcast that motorcyclists account for about 30 to 32 per cent of road fatalities, making them the main target of a focus-deterrent strategy. The branch aims to cut motorcycle deaths by 50 per cent and reduce fatalities among other vulnerable groups by 10 per cent, which officers said could bring total deaths for the year to around 280. Jamaica has recorded fewer than 300 road deaths in only seven of the past 50 years; the most recent was 2012, when 260 people were killed.

So far this year, 33 motorcyclists have died on the roads. Watson said that figure remains below the 46 recorded at the same point last year, after yearly motorcycle deaths fell from 166 in 2021 to 111 in 2024. Western parishes including Westmoreland, St. James, and St. Elizabeth account for many incidents. Officers are pressing riders to wear prescribed helmets and want stronger rules, including possible seizure of motorcycles when riders lack helmets and raising the motorcycle licensing age from 17 to 21.

Enforcement has intensified. Watson said officers have issued about 70,000 more tickets since January than in the same period last year, including more than 66,000 speeding tickets. Seventy-six drivers have been arrested for being over the alcohol limit after more than 10,000 checks, up from 30 arrests at this stage last year. Derby said targeted night operations run where data show late-night speeding, and toxicology testing now extends to drivers killed in single-vehicle crashes.

Thirty pedestrians have died since the start of the year, with people aged 60 and over representing half of that toll. Derby said PSTEB works daily to keep roadways and sidewalks clear, coordinates with agencies on faded intersection markings, and uses body cameras to improve officer conduct. Officers also warned that only loaded construction vehicles may use orange lights, blue lights are restricted to police and designated emergency services, and red lights are for ambulances.