40 road deaths recorded so far in July

 

Forty people have died in motor vehicle crashes so far this month. It marks the first time this year and all of last year that road fatalities for a single calendar month have hit that figure.

 

Victim number 40 is the previously unreported death of a 68-year-old woman who was killed in a two-vehicle collision along Gordon Town Road in St. Andrew on Saturday. 

 

The incident was listed in the Daily Fatal Collision Report published by the JCF's Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement branch on Wednesday. 

 

The woman's name and details of the 1:50 a.m. crash were not released by the police. 

 

Vice-chair of the National Road Safety Council Dr. Lucien Jones lamented that July 2025 has now joined the infamous '40 and over' club. 

 

The motor vehicle death toll for July marks the 10th time since 2010 that Jamaica has recorded 40 or more road fatalities in a single month. 

 

Dr. Jones says the country should be on red alert for road fatalities. 

 

"So far for the month of July, 40 people have died, which is more than the 34 in June and the 34 in March. So that means July is the worst month we've had in terms of fatalities from the beginning of the year. Looking further at the data provided by the Island Traffic Authority, we note that the number of private motor car passengers has increased significantly over last year and so too private motor car drivers. So therefore, again, the matter of speeding is something which we need as a country, the entire country to mobilise to deal with. But we also need to make sure that passengers and also drivers of motorcycles are wearing safety devices, wearing their seat belts," he urged. 

 

The 40 road deaths so far this month and 34 recorded last month have wiped out gains made up in the first week of March this year, when there was an 18% reduction in fatalities. 

 

A total 229 people have died in road crashes this year, a 3% increase when compared with the corresponding period last year.