Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton has raised concerns over the rise in road accidents, leading to the loss of lives.

At his press conference today, Mr. Norton said the frequent accidents on major roadways in the country are now a cause for concern. He said more must be done other than the launching of new campaigns.

He called for the crafting of new policies that will not only regulate road use, but will also help with proper road construction which will help in reducing road accidents.

“This is a national crisis that requires urgent and robust government responses, we in the Opposition therefore, call on the government, to at minimum, address congestion and road deaths within a policy framework that is data driven and review traffic accidents statistics to determine the range of causes for the accidents and the relative contribution,” Norton stated.

Over the past few weeks, there have been several deadly accidents on the country’s roadways. More than 120 road deaths have been recorded since January.

“We in the opposition are alarmed over the sharp rise in road accidents, injuries and deaths. This carnage has engulfed all of our highways and all types of road users and vehicles—from pedestrian and motorcycles to cars, busses and trucks and the government response top date has not inspired any public confidence,” Mr. Norton stated.

In addition, Mr. Norton said there must be robust education and enforcement and this must be done on a long-term basis. He also called for safety audits to be done on major highways and roadways.

“We too regularly after accidents become involved in campaigns which do not last long and are ineffective, as the next government we are already preparing a road safety and traffic management plan with the assistance of road and transportation engineers,” Mr. Norton stated.

The Opposition Leader also called for closer attention to be paid to those heavy duty trucks traversing the country’s roadways and in many instances, forcing other road users off the roads.

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