More males involved in fatal accidents – Health Minister

A closer look at the statistics of fatal accidents has shown that four out of five persons involved are males, with the remainder accounting for females.
This stark trend was highlighted by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony during the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
It was reported that there was a 29 per cent decrease in fatal accidents for 2021 compared to 2020. While there have been 81 fatal accidents with 88 deaths, last year’s figures showed 114 accidents and 124 deaths.
He also underscored that a majority of individuals involved in these accidents are youths, who are often under the influence of alcohol when driving.
“You would see that among the persons who died or involved in these fatal accidents, about four males to maybe one female when you look at the stats. So, more males end up in these fatal accidents than females. And when you look at the age category, they’re generally between 25 and 49 years of age. A lot of these cases, when you do the analysis even further, many of these young men have been drinking,” the Health Minister shared.
He said a lot of accidents can be prevented with responsible actions from those who are imbibing and others involved in these activities.
“Get somebody as a designated driver who would avoid alcohol and be able to take you home safely. If you see a person who has been drinking and you know they have had too much, then don’t put them in the car for them to drive home. Call a taxi or get somebody to take them home. If we start to adopt these types of responsible behaviour, then I think we’ll have a reduction in the number of fatal accidents that we’re seeing on our roadways,” Dr Anthony cautioned.
Another common concern, he identified, is the growing plague of cell phone users while driving. With reduced focus on the roadway, this is often a recipe for accidents and fatalities.
“People are driving and they believe they can multitask. While they’re driving, somebody calls them and they pick up the phone, and they’re not paying attention to what is happening on the road. Because of that, you can get into accidents. Sometimes when they’re driving, they believe they can drive and text at the same time. That’s a crazy thing to do because you’re distracted.”
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn also recognised the importance of identifying these warning signs to curtail accidents.
Benn noted, “The more important thing is to catch beforehand, the warning signs, the indiscretions, the bad behaviour, the bad practices which leads us to points where we have accidents and serious accidents which results in serious injuries and loss of life”.
Additionally, he posited that regardless of who is involved in a road incident, the integrity of the country’s laws must be upheld with zero interference.
“We are accountable under the laws and we should not unnecessarily intervene in issues which would bring things and ourselves into disrepute. This is very important. The integrity of the system relies on the integrity of the persons doing the work.” (G12)