As the nation observes Road Safety Awareness Month, IGL Blue’s ‘Top Gas Truck Driver of the Year’, Mr. Devon Campbell, has a message for all drivers and road users – “drive with care and be responsible on our roads”.
Although this call has been made for years, Mr. Campbell tells JIS News that it is not too much to stress, as with six months into the year, over 160 persons have died because of road crashes.
He believes all road crashes which occurred since the start of the year could have been prevented, had those who died or drivers responsible for road fatalities, heard the message more often.
“I’ve been driving since 1982 and I practise defensive driving. I do a lot of that and I do proper overtaking… but I remember to be responsible on our roads because I remember the message,” Mr. Campbell says.
Just like members of the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Mining and the National Road Safety Council, Mr. Campbell believes road fatalities can be brought down significantly if all drivers, riders and other road users obey the nation’s road rules.
“If we all follow the rules of the road and adhere to the laws, then I believe we would have much less road crashes and road fatalities, and perhaps no fatalities at all,” he says.
Mr. Campbell was awarded IGL Blue’s Top Driver of the Year at the company’s sixth annual Health, Safety and Environment Road Safety Incentive Awards Ceremony on June 13, at the company’s office located on Spanish Town Road in Kingston.
Health, Safety and Environment Manager, IGL Blue Limited, Mr. Dwight Campbell, says Mr. Campbell practises what he preaches regarding road safety, thus the reason the Managers selected him as the top driver from the entire group of drivers.
“Devon Campbell was the most rounded driver for 2017, incident free, accident free in terms of unsafe acts, reporting potential incidents, training records were about 100 per cent and his attendance 100 per cent. Based on the number of kilometres driven over the last year, he is the top driver for 2017,” Mr. Campbell tells JIS News.
Present at the awards ceremony was Accident Analyst/Statistician in the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Mining, Ms. Francine White, who congratulated Mr. Campbell.
She tells JIS News she is pleased that the message of road safety is what he (Mr. Devon Campbell) will take with him during his reign as IGL’s Top Truck Driver of the Year.
“We all must take responsibility for our actions. We must develop awareness for safety and remain committed to attacking this particular challenge as a nation. It is very important that we play our part in advancing proper use of the nation’s road,” Ms. White says.
“We at the Road Safety Unit have been totally disheartened by the level of indiscipline being displayed on our roads, causing various forms of tragedy and trauma. It hurts me every time we lose one of our citizens to a traffic accident that could possibly be avoided,” she adds.
Annually, the month of June is observed as Road Safety Awareness Month. This year, the launch took place on June 6, staged by the Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association at the Total Red Hills Road Service Station, in St. Andrew.
The theme for this year is: ‘Leave sooner, drive slower and live longer’. Activities during the month will focus heavily on the most vulnerable road users, such as children, the elderly, motorcyclists and pedestrians.