HAVING faced much criticism over its failure to implement a public education campaign before the Road Traffic Act (2018) and its regulations were brought into effect on February 1, 2023, the Government is set to finally launch a public information drive.

Minister with responsibility for information Robert Morgan on Wednesday told a post-Cabinet media briefing that the public education drive has had a soft launch on social media with a full roll-out days away.

The amended Road Traffic Act introduced stiffer fines and penalties for breaches, but many Jamaicans were unaware of the provisions of the legislation before it took effect.

Critics pointed to the public’s ignorance about the law, the lack of public education and the limited ability of the police to enforce some aspects of the new law as the Andrew Holness Administration faced public backlash in the immediate aftermath of the implementation date.

Responding to the critics, Holness declared that his Administration was dedicated to the process and, “where there are mistakes, they must be immediately acknowledged and corrected, and a commitment made to setting higher standards”.

On Wednesday Morgan hinted that one of those mistakes was being addressed, as he told journalists that he had made a presentation to Cabinet for the launch of a public awareness campaign dubbed ‘Know the Road Code’.

“I outlined to the Cabinet that the Ministry of Transport and Mining has made adjustments to the Road Traffic Act that focused on regulating behaviour and the laws concerning all road users of Jamaica in an attempt to make the roads safe and secure for every citizen.

“The awareness campaign…will bring attention to key concerns regarding proper road usage to communicate the desired behaviours to improve the quality of the road experience of all Jamaicans,” said Morgan.

He pointed out that the objectives of the campaign include minimising road fatalities and building a culture of responsible driving in the wider community.

Morgan said the campaign will also seek to “increase public awareness of the revised Road Traffic Act, promote safer roads for the Jamaican public, and sensitise the Jamaican public about the revised road traffic regulations”.

He later told the Jamaica Observer that while the soft launch has been done on social media, the entity which will do the full roll-out has not yet been determined.

It is expected that the campaign will be segmented to target road users in categories including drivers, riders, passengers and pedestrians.

Last year 488 people died as a result of 425 fatal crashes on the nation’s streets. Motorcyclists accounted for the highest number of road fatalities at 142. This group was followed by pedestrians and private motor vehicle drivers, who accounted for 109 and 85 deaths, respectively.

So far, this year, 124 people have lost their lives in road crashes on the streets of Jamaica.