According to the police, the deaths represent a 2% decrease from the 117 victims who perished in 2009 as a result of 98 fatal accidents.
Speeding caused 70 of the fatal accidents and was the major cause of road fatalities, police said. In addition to speeding, 17 fatal accidents were caused by inattentiveness, six by error of judgment, four by drunk driving and four others were due to the lack of care at the road junction.
Of the 115 deaths, 40 of them were pedestrians, 22 were motorcyclists, 17 were pedal cyclists, 13 were occupants in motor buses, eight were occupants in motor cars, seven were drivers, one was a pillion rider, another was being towed on a bicycle and one was an occupant on a trailer.
Private cars were the categories of vehicles most involved in fatal accidents during 2010, followed by motor cycles (24), bicycles (21), minibuses (17), hire cars (13), motor pick-ups (12) and motor lorries (10).
Of the victims in fatal accidents, seven were children as opposed to the 18 children who died in 2009, which represents a 61% reduction. There was also a reduction in “serious accidents” during last year, with 348 being recorded against 364 for 2009. There were 417 minor accidents last year down from the 531 recorded the previous year, which represents a 21% decrease. In 2010, 784 damage accidents took place, which represents a 27% decline from the 1,070 recorded in 2009.
The majority of accidents took place in “A” Division (Conversation Tree to Dora, the Linden/Soesdyke Highway) where 41 persons died—an increase from the 24 deaths recorded last year. There were 29 fatalities in “B” Division, 22 in “C” division, 11 in “D” division, 7 in “E&F” Division and 5 in “G” division. According to the police, the reduction in traffic incidents was due to several factors, including more rigid enforcement of traffic rules, especially through “its zero tolerance “Operation Safeway” throughout the country.” Traffic education, the acquisition and use of radar guns and the use of breathalysers were also credited for the reduction of traffic incidents. According to the police, the enforcement of the law in relation to provisional drivers’ licences, with the licences being issued for two three-month periods after which the holder has to successfully complete the learner-driver theoretical examination in order to continue being processed for a driver’s licence, also contributed to the reduction in road incidents.
The increase in fines for specific traffic offences was also listed as a positive factor.
Under “Operation Safeway,” 63,251 cases were made; there were 15, 362 cases of speeding, 1,099 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol and 678 cases of persons using cellular phones while driving. Other prevalent traffic offences were overloading of minibuses (4,958) and obstruction (3,948).
