Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Jones

Convenor and vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Dr. Lucien Jones, is calling for a resumption of the breathalyser programme.

The call comes in the midst of an increase in the number of road fatalities, which have claimed at least 15 lives since last week Friday.

Dr. Jones was speaking Thursday night at the 'Global Road Safety Week' exposition at Emancipation Park in New Kingston.

"The breathalyser programme must be revived and instituted very quickly - not next year or in July. It must happen this month or next month," he said. "It has been shown to reduce death and injury across the world."

According to police reports dating back to last year, the breathalyser testing system, which was introduced nine years ago, has become obsolete, with many of the machines becoming defective.

Dr. Jones also wants the Government to urgently reorganise the Island Traffic Authority.

"Many people are buying their licenses, many cars are being driven on the road that have never passed the gates of a traffic authority and this is the reality in our country. It is called corruption!" Dr. Jones said.

Meanwhile Dr. Alwin Hayles, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Water, Transport and Works who represented Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill at the function, said a submission is to be made to Cabinet shortly to transform the Island Traffic Authority into an executive agency.

Dr. Jones has also taken issue with the ticketing system, which he said is not working as well as it ought to.

Fix it

"There are many mini bus drivers and taxi operators who are driving around, having been issued 50 and 60 tickets and are still on the roads, we need to fix it and fix it very fast. It can't be beyond our wits and our energy to ensure that these things happen," he stated.

He however noted that road safety was everyone's business and that each Jamaican must take responsibility for their own safety.

"We must, as a people, begin to drive more carefully. We are driving too quickly and excessive speed and careless driving is a major cause of crashes on our roads. We have to take responsibility for ourselves."

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com