Illiteracy responsible for several St Ann crashes — Supt. Wayne Cameron
St Ann has been under the microscope in recent times following several road fatalities in the parish. The most recent incident, which occurred in Llandovery, claimed the lives of five people, including a basic school principal, when the driving shaft of the public passenger bus they were travelling in broke, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which then collided with the Toyota Rav4. It was then discovered that the driver of the bus was actually the conductor.
“The worst set of drivers I have seen in my many years as a police are the bus drivers who ply the route from Brown’s Town to Ocho Rios. They have absolutely no regard for the road traffic laws. They do not obey the stoplights, they overtake on the continuous white lines, they overtake on the unelevated medians, they overtake on intersections, and they undertake on both soft and hard shoulders. “They only conform when they see the police present at a checkpoint or observe a police unit in traffic,” Cameron told Jamaica Observer North East. Cameron said these operators not only show disregard for the road traffic laws, “but that it is also a human factor in that they have no discipline at all”. “I’ve also recognised that many of the drivers cannot read or write and those who can are not so good at it. And I believe that this is a necessity in order to operate vehicles. The drivers behave the same way they do on wet roads as they do on dry roads. There is no observance or consideration on their part,” he lamented.
As a result, Cameron is urging vehicle owners to “employ people who can at least read and write”. “Employ people who have developed some amount of literacy, who not only use judgement, because it is not sufficient, especially as a public passenger vehicle driver,” he insisted. At the same time, Cameron said to mitigate the problem, focus will also be placed on owners. “I think the targeting will not just be about bus drivers, but also about owners. The owners are to use due diligence when hiring people to drive and conduct for them. “We have learnt that many times the conductors are the ones driving the bus without the proper training or licensing, and this is evident in the last ill-fated crash. We will have to start sanctioning the owners of buses.
Read more here: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/regional/Illiteracy-responsible-for-several-St-Ann-crashes — Supt – Wayne-Cameron_64415
Three shot dead in Westmoreland, 8‑y-o injured
WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — Three men were yesterday shot dead in separate incidents in Whithorn, Westmoreland, mere minutes apart. An eight-year-old boy was also shot and injured in one of the incidents. The first incident occurred about 8:30 pm, while 22-year-old Gawayne Morris, 31-year-old Jason Wedderburn and the boy were at a shop in Lindos Hill. Reports from the police are that a motor car drove up and assailants disembarked the vehicle then opened gunfire at them. They all received gunshot wounds. Morris and Wedderburn were pronounced dead at hospital while the eight-year-old boy, whose injury is considered minor, was treated. Then at 9:00 pm, residents heard explosions in the Maxfield area and alerted the police. Stanford Anderson, a 59-year-old fruit vendor, was later found dead close to his stall on the Maxfield main road. The police say investigations into both incidents are ongoing.
Gunmen videoed running through community, cops investigate
KINGSTON, Jamaica – OBSERVER ONLINE has obtained a video which shows five gunmen running through a community in broad daylight. Explosions can be heard as the men, dressed in pullovers and brandishing guns, make their way through a community which sources say is Norwood, St James. Police in Montego Bay told OBSERVER ONLINE that they are aware of the video, but could not confirm where or when the incident occurred. Head of the St James Police Divison, Senior Superintendent Marlon Nesbeth, told OBSERVER ONLINE on Sunday that checks are being made and information is being gathered as they continue to look into the matter. Reaad more @ http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gunmen-videoed-running-through-community – cops-investigate