Jamaica’s road safety improvement

Jamaica is seeing an improvement in road safety, with a reduction in casualty levels. So far in 2017, overall road deaths have been 49 less than in the same period during 2016. The road death toll at the end of 2017 is hoped to be significantly lower than in 2016, itself an improvement over the previous year. During 2016 there were 379 road deaths in Jamaica, compared with 382 in 2015.
December 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Jamaica is seeing an improvement in road safety, with a reduction in casualty levels. So far in 2017, overall road deaths have been 49 less than in the same period during 2016. The road death toll at the end of 2017 is hoped to be significantly lower than in 2016, itself an improvement over the previous year. During 2016 there were 379 road deaths in Jamaica, compared with 382 in 2015.


One key strategy in reducing road deaths is in encouraging motorcyclists to wear helmets. Motorcyclists now account for over 30% of all road deaths in Jamaica, an increase from the 15% of 2010. And 90% of those motorcycle riders killed were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash. Road safety groups as well as the Jamaican police are pushing the message to riders that helmets can cut fatality rates. Meanwhile the Jamaican police force is also now trying to tackle speeding, another key factor in crash severity and risk.

Crashes place a heavy burden on the families of victims. A government report also suggests that crashes reduces Jamaica’s GDP by 3-5%, an economic impact the country can ill afford. The country is still aiming to meet the UN’s aims of reducing road deaths.

Related Content

  • Thailand’s dangerous days for festival
    April 20, 2018
    Thailand’s recent Songkran Festival period saw a worrying spike in road crashes and fatalities. There were 418 road deaths over the seven day festival period, held in April, an increase of 7% over the 390 fatalities recorded for the event in 2017. The Road Safety Centre's report said that the number of crashes during the seven day festival hit 3,724 for 2018, compared with 3,690 in 2017, while injuries grew to 3,897 in 2018 from 3,808 in 2017.
    Read More
  • Research reveals rash driving road risk for young drivers
    May 15, 2015
    Research by the RAC Foundation reveals the high risk posed by young drivers on the UK’s roads. Meanwhile the UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is calling for stronger measures on drivers aged 70 or more. Young drivers aged 17-19 only account for 1.5% of the UK’s driving population but feature in 12% of crashes involving serious injuries and fatalities. Around 20% of young drivers aged 17-19 will have a crash in the first six months after passing their test according to the study. The analysis carr
    Read More
  • The cost of crashes impacts on GDP
    February 7, 2018
    A report from the World Bank shows that low- and middle-income countries could be up to 22% wealthier if road deaths were halved in their countries. The report, The High Toll of Traffic Injuries, was released in December 2017. It studied the effect of road traffic crashes in five countries that are part of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety Programme 2015–2019: China, India, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Thailand. According to the report, if these countries achieved Sustainable Development
    Read More
  • Road safety concern for Europe
    May 19, 2015
    A quick look at corporate results for some of the major construction equipment manufacturers paints a somewhat confusing picture of current demand. Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of off-highway machines and for so long a bell-wether for the construction sector, recently released results showing a drop in profits. CNH and Volvo CE too have been similarly afflicted with a lower than expected financial performance, perhaps a major factor in Volvo CE's decision to pull out of a joint venture part
    Read More

Highlighted Content