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Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Lashley (centre), speaking at the launch of the Road Safety Public Awareness Campaign. Looking on are President of the Barbados Road Safety Association, Sharmane Roland-Bowen (left); and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Simone Rudder (right, partially hidden).

CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

THE Ministry of Transport and Works has launched a Road Safety Public Awareness Campaign, intended to instil better habits in road users and to reduce the number of serious accidents and fatalities that have been occurring on the nation’s roads.

At the launch yesterday morning, held in the Ministry’s conference room, Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Lashley, said the campaign is but one component of a multi-dimensional road safety platform that the Ministry is developing. He made the point while noting that the Ministry, in seeking to promote the safety of all road users, is also amending the Road Traffic Act and restructuring the Barbados National Road Safety Council.

Yesterday the media, stakeholders in the transport and general insurance industries, as well as the Barbados Road Safety Association were on hand to see four new public service ads (PSAs) – ‘Afternoon Ride’, ‘Must Stop’, ‘Click In’ and ‘The Road is not a Track’ – produced by Clish Gittens, Jason Russell and Vonley Smith, that will be aired on television and via social media. Officials of the Ministry say they are not stopping there either, as there are other advertisements that will be featured on the television, radio and in the print media, as well as flyers that will be distributed to engage the public.

According to Lashley, the idea for the campaign came out of a meeting he held with members of the Barbados National Road Safety Council in March. He explained the meeting was held in response to the recent spate of serious accidents and fatalities, and allowed them to dialogue and come up with a plan to aggressively approach that issue and to sensitise all road users on good road safety practices. The Transport and Works Minister’s comments came as he said that efforts will also be made to take the campaign into primary and secondary schools across the island, to bring about behaviour change among those young road users as well.

Speaking also at the launch was Assistant Superintendent of Police, Ronald Stanford. He said the Royal Barbados Police Force believes that education is a vital part of ensuring road safety, and explained that even if they were to station police officers at every corner, if drivers are not educated to do what is right, the fight for road safety will be lost.

“The Police Force, we were really, really concerned about the number of fatalities that we were having and I am glad that the Ministry has decided that we need to do something about it. We need to take the information to members of the public, to all road users,” he said.

The Assistant Superintendent added, “When you look at the fatalities so far for the year, I think we have had them in all categories. We had pedestrians, we had passengers of vehicles, we had motorcyclists, we had drivers of vehicles; so in truth and in fact, this should impact all.”

With that in mind, he is calling on all road users to take the campaign seriously, so as to prevent any other fatalities this year. He made the point while noting that in 2016 there were only nine road fatalities, and so far this year there have already been 17 road deaths recorded.

“And we’re not even into June as yet, it is a concern,” he maintained. (JRT)

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