The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is reminding the public of some of the crash hotspots across the country, and is appealing to motorists to exercise extra care when traversing these roadways.
Head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gary McKenzie, said that the JCF has worked with its stakeholders in classifying the crash hotspots.
These, the PSTEB Head said, are areas where more than two fatal crashes have occurred, and where the JCF has increased its vigilance.
“When we look, for example, at the toll highway between Caymanas and the Vineyards, the Nelson Mandela Highway, and the Michael Manley Boulevard out in East Kingston, those are areas of concern in the Corporate Area [and St. Catherine],” ACP McKenzie noted.
He also indicated that Old Harbour Road in St. Catherine, Bustamante Highway in Clarendon, the Llandovery main road in St. Ann, and the Rose Hall main road in St. James are other areas of concern.
ACP McKenzie said those locations have been mapped and that the PSTEB team has heightened its presence in those areas as a matter of priority.
“We work along with our stakeholders, the National Road Safety Council, and we partner with them in terms of educating motorists. I must also mention that the Mona GeoInformatics Institute at the University of the West Indies also contributes to our planning process. So the data, or the analysis that they provide, helps us to better deploy and implement those strategies,” he explained.
ACP McKenzie further emphasised the importance of public awareness and understanding of what he described as the perennial crash hotspots.
Other stakeholders engaged in this process include the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Mining, and the Island Traffic Authority.
