Road Fatalities – Another Public Health Issue!

Road fatalities are another public health issue that citizens should be aware of, but, unlike other diseases, this is a social one and can only be treated with behavioral and infrastructural changes. Sunday, November 15 marks world day for the remembrance of road traffic victims. In this feature, we highlight the road fatality statistics and the wreckage it has caused.

The total number of lives lost to road fatalities as of November 11 IS 367, that means that an average one person has died daily from road crashes since the start of 2020.

Education specialist at United Nations Children’s Fund  (UNICEF), Dr. Rebecca Tortello says road safety has become a major concern, especially for children.

According to UNICEF, road crashes are the leading cause of death globally for children over 10 years old which led to the issue being placed on the sustainable development goals, supported by all united nation member states to which Jamaica is a part of.

The goal is to reduce global deaths and injuries caused by road traffic crashes by 50% for  2020. Last year, 440 people died from road crashes in Jamaica. It was 378, on November 11, 2019, 11 more than the similar period this year.

Though down, worrying trends from the road safety unit show that the figure may rise in December. Prime Minister Andrew Holness says road safety requires a national response. In one of the latest road crashes, five lives were lost in discovery bay, St. Ann,

Two adults, an unborn child, and two girls – 13 and 14 years old; they were on their way to a funeral.

 Jamaila Maitland reports: