Jamaica scores a campaign goal

The Jamaican national football team – also known as the ‘Reggae Boyz’ –has become the latest in a string of high profile signings to pledge support to the Caribbean island’s Make Roads Safe campaign.

The Reggae Boyz and their coach Velibor Milutinovic signed the Make Roads Safe petition at a seminar hosted by the Jamaican Automobile Association (JAA).

They follow the country’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who signed up to the campaign earlier this year during UN Global Road Safety week. Make Roads Safe activities at the time were targeted at children and young adults and aimed at increasing awareness of road safety. The JAA called for action to promote use of helmets, encourage safe road design and construction.

A major concern in Jamaica is safe road use among young people. This summer, the campaign has been targeting schools and young people with a range of initiatives which aim to get the message across.

The JAA has donated a Mitsubishi Cantor truck, equipped with props for road safety demonstrations in schools and communities, to the Jamaican police Traffic Division. The truck was handed over at the Osborne Store Primary and All Age School in Clarendon, South Jamaica.

In addition, high school and university students across the island are raising awareness and encouraging Jamaicans – in particular other young people – to sign the petitions.

Of course, securing the signatures of the Jamaican national football team, the ‘Reggae Boyz’ has only helped in attracting young people to the campaign and its important messages.

Also crucial, is the work the JAA has done with local communities. In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport Road Safety Unit, the JAA has embarked on a number of town meetings to engage the public in dialogue and get them to understand why it is imperative to act promptly and decisively to improve road safety.

< Back