THE National Road Safety Council (NRSC) will be intensifying its efforts this year to encourage a reduction in crashes, particularly among pedestrians. Within this group there will be particular focus on the reduction of child road fatalities and injuries, by a more coordinated programme of road safety education targeting students.

This effort will see a two-pronged approach by the NRSC, in increasing its public education/awareness drive on child road safety, and collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to standardise and implement road safety programmes in schools, including input to the curriculum.

Paula Fletcher, executive director, NRSC, disclosed that the Council met with the MOE last December and that the ministry agreed to undertake a survey among schools this year, to determine and assess the level of road safety education. This assessment will also identify and provide information on some of the road safety hazards faced by students and pinpoint the nature of the road environment/network in close proximity to their schools and the exposure to greater traffic vulnerabilities.

"We, at the NRSC, feel the need to more actively engage the MOE and respective schools in their own road safety assessment and awareness this year," said Fletcher.

The NRSC's increased collaboration with the ministry comes at a time when children remain the most vulnerable group of road users. An average of 30 per cent of all pedestrian deaths each year are children.

Since the start of 2012, 20 persons have lost their lives on the roads. Of that number, five are pedestrians, including one child. During 2011, children were the most at-risk group of road users, and the country saw a 12.2% upsurge in child deaths, in comparison to 2010. Twenty-five children, who were pedestrians lost their lives on the roads last year, and this represented a 25 per cent climb in child pedestrian fatalities. In contrast, there was an 8.7% reduction in adult pedestrian fatalities, dropping from 115 to 105.

Dr Lucien Jones highlighted the need for the authorities to have a zero-tolerance approach to breaches, which expose road users, including children, to injuries and death. He says such a trend is evident in Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and many developed countries, and needs to be urgently emulated by Jamaica, especially at a time when the world is implementing strategies to promote road safety under the Decade of Action For Road Safety (2011-2020). "Our public education programme this year will be informed by the basic principle that children should not die on our roads," said Dr Jones.

"A lot of children who are dying are pedestrians: they are running across the roads, or they are being mowed down on the sidewalks, so we have to get them to learn to use the road very carefully," Dr Jones added.

He stressed the need for motorists to be more caring towards children. A part of the public education drive will be to sensitise motorists on being more pedestrian-friendly in their conduct on the roads.

"Motorists should make it their priority to not put pedestrians, especially children and the elderly, in danger," said the NRSC vice-chairman. "We at the NRSC also have to deal with pedestrians who are crossing the roads inappropriately, and educate them in a more focused way. We also need families to see it as their duty to teach children how to use the road properly, and to not allow young children to use the roads alone."

Input to the curriculum, school visits, road safety demonstrations, distribution of road safety promotional material to students and multi-media ads on child road safety are among the awareness activities planned by the NRSC this year. The NRSC will be partnering with the National Health Fund, Police Road Traffic Division, the Ministry of Education, The Road Safety Unit (Ministry of Transport and Works), the Jamaica Automobile Association, Parent Teachers' Associations and individual schools in effecting the programme.

So far this year, only one pedestrian has died on the road, but according to Dr Jones, that loss of life should be no comfort for the nation. The NRSC has pointed out that it will be discussing with the new minister of transport and works, the need for a Pedestrian Road Safety Policy.

"We have to deal with the matter of pedestrian deaths urgently," Dr Jones pointed out, while underscoring the need for a multi-sectoral compliance to this policy when it becomes a reality.

The NRSC has indicated that the new Road Traffic Act is well advanced and could come on stream later this year. Among the proposed provisions are the establishment of school zones with a lower speed limit and increased fines, and the outlining of the responsibilities of pedestrians.

The Police Traffic Division cited the need for increased motorcycles, in order to improve its surveillance of road users. Head of the Police Traffic Division, Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis pointed out that at least 70 motorcycles are needed to increase the presence of the force in strategic areas of the island where more monitoring of motorists are required. Noting that speeding is one of the most common causes of crashes, SSP Lewis indicated that this year the police will not be tolerant of persons who breach the speed limit and other traffic regulations. Last year the police issued some 60,000 tickets for speeding.

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