Motorists urged to be cautious during Yuletide season

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is urging motorists to exercise caution and sound judgement as they traverse the nation's roadways this festive season.

Acting Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie said that many dangerous driving practices become more commonplace during the Yuletide season, creating an unsafe traffic environment.

"Vehicles are sometimes overloaded, both public passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, and those are things that we will not tolerate. We must ensure that vehicles are utilised in a manner for which they were lawfully designated, because we have seen in [the past] where we have had very serious crashes where multiple persons have been injured and have died," he lamented. McKenzie, who is head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch of the JCF, further cautioned drivers to be alert as they conduct business and keep valuables out of sight.

"We encourage persons ... not to wear excess jewellery, not to put valuables on car seats, not to park in dark areas. Do your shopping within the daytime and ensure that you shop in groups. Do not leave your car, walk away for a distance and then close it. Close it and check your doors before you move. If you see anything suspicious, you must report it to the police," he advised.

With several traffic changes expected to be put into place across the island throughout the holiday period, and a high volume of vehicles on the roadways, McKenzie urged compliance with police directives "because we will find that some roads will be congested, and we will have to detour persons to other roads".

He said that the JCF will be present on main roads leading from major entertainment events, during the period, conducting breathalyser tests where suspicious movement of vehicles is identified, and persons will be prosecuted for careless and dangerous driving.

"We hope that we can have a reduction of serious crimes, and of course, a reduction of injuries through movement of vehicles this Christmas," said McKenzie.

According to the Road Safety Unit, as at December 15, 403 road fatalities have been recorded, resulting from 365 fatal collisions. The fatalities represent a 13 per cent decline from the corresponding period last year. The number of fatal collisions represent a nine per cent reduction when compared to the corresponding period last year. The parishes of Westmoreland, St Catherine and St Andrew accounted for the highest number of fatalities to date, while males accounted for 88 per cent of the fatalities.