ITA reports road deaths down 19 percent as pedestrians climb fatality rankings

Jamaica has lost 179 lives on the road so far this year, a roughly 19 percent drop from the same period last year, Island Traffic Authority corporate communications and public relations manager Deonte Matthews said on TVJ's Smile Jamaica.

Motorcyclists remain the deadliest category with 47 fatalities, followed by pedestrians at 41 and private motor vehicle drivers at about 39. Matthews said pedestrians have moved into second place, ahead of their usual third ranking behind motorcyclists and private drivers.

He linked the pedestrian toll to unsafe habits viewers also flagged: crossing without looking properly, distractions, walking with their backs to traffic, stepping or running into the roadway to beat vehicles, crossing highways, and moving in front of or behind large vehicles. He also cited people crossing at corners and darting across dual carriageways. On Mandela Highway, he said he has seen people vault the median and try to hopscotch across lanes.

Matthews stressed the correct crossing drill is look right, then left, then right — not “up and down,” which many people still describe when asked.

Adult behaviour remains a concern because children copy what they see. Beyond school sessions, the ITA targets parents at PTAs, workplaces and expos, and will engage institutions during late-August orientations. Matthews said the agency was in St. Ann yesterday at a senior citizens’ fair, speaking to older residents and their grandchildren, because guardians must reinforce road rules once students leave the classroom.

Fatal crashes cluster on familiar hotspots in each parish. In St. Catherine he named the Old Harbour Main Road, Mandela Highway and the Spanish Town Bypass. In Kingston and St. Andrew he pointed to Mandela Highway’s Kingston stretch, Constant Spring Road, Hope Road and, for motorcycles, Temple Hall. In St. Ann he cited the Ocho Rios Main Road and Landover Main Road near Low Lands; in Westmoreland, Nonpareil Road and Petersville Main Road. Smooth, long corridors such as St. Ann routes, Montego Bay’s Rose Hall Main Road on the Elegant Corridor, and Trelawny’s Braco Main Road also draw speeding drivers who treat them as joy rides, he said.

Matthews urged defensive driving: plan travel time and route, allow for traffic and road conditions, obey posted limits such as 50 km/h zones, check mirrors constantly, and expect the unexpected — including a child running into the road. Safety, he said, rests with motorists and pedestrians alike.

Asked about a jaywalking offence, he said Jamaica has no such law and he does not know whether legislators have considered one since he joined the ITA; the public would be told if that changed. On crossings, he noted that while pedestrians have the right of way, they must still give drivers a reasonable chance to stop and should not rush into traffic simply because the crossing favours them.