National Road Safety Council deeply concerned about spike in fatal road crashes involving children

Jamaica’s main road safety advocacy group has raised alarm about the “disturbing” spike in the number of children killed in motor vehicle crashes since the start of the year.

Seven children between the ages of zero and 17 have died on the nation’s roadways since January 1 — six more than in the corresponding period last year — according to official data from the Island Traffic Authority (ITA).

There were three deaths in January and four so far this month.

The spike in child fatalities comes amid a 33 per cent decline in road deaths nationally.

Up to February 23, a total of 37 people have died in motor vehicle crashes, 18 fewer than the 55 recorded over the corresponding period last year, according to ITA data.

The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) has described the rise in child fatalities as “disturbing” and “deeply concerning.”

“Three died in private motor cars, which raises the possibility that they were not properly buckled up,” said Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman of the NRSC.

Two children died in motorcycle collisions, while the other victims were a pedal cyclist and a pedestrian, Jones disclosed.

The pedal cyclist, a 17-year-old boy from Clarendon, is the latest victim.

He was killed along the Pleasant Valley main road in the parish on Sunday following a collision with a Toyota Probox motor car, a police report revealed.

The police listed “inattention/diverted attention, error of judgment/negligence, and misjudged clearance and/or distance and speed” as the possible causes of the crash.

- Livern Barrett

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