Advocacy

Along with the key services provided to its members from the very beginning, the JAA quickly became a lobbying group for road safety and improvements to the road system.

The 2000 cars on the road in 1925 had to contend with buses and drays oblivious of road rules, so the Association reported cases of bad road usage. It also made suggestions for the regulation of head lights and for improving road conditions.

Concerns over traffic conditions led to the formation of the Safety First Board in 1927, and the subsequent production of the Safety First film in 1928.

That early start as an advocate for road safety has followed the JAA into the present.

As a member of the FIA Foundation, the JAA is a participant in the Make Roads Safe Campaign, launched in 2006, which is coordinated by the FIA Foundation. This campaign aims to raise public awareness of the scale of the road injury problem to secure political commitment for its prevention.

One result of this Campaign was the United Nations endorsed Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020. This focused on the fact that car crashes on the world’s roads cost the lives of 1000 young people every day.

Athlete Asafa Powell endorsed the Decade of Action for Road Safety, and several Jamaican athletes have committed to endorsing the campaign. This marked a new focus by the JAA on road safety relating to children.

The result of this focus on road safety for children helped in the formation of the JAA Junior Clubs, which has been added to the menu of extra-curricular activities in schools across the island. The Clubs use fun and innovation to address the serious topic of poor road use and its consequences. At present, the JAA Junior Club is in 53 schools; all of which are located in close proximity to the island’s crash hot spots.

The JAA Junior Club is focused on reducing the number and frequency of road crashes and fatalities through increased awareness and interest in road safety challenges, better road user practices and a responsible approach to motor racing as well as mechanical related careers.

The Club is a collaborative effort, implemented by the JN Foundation, in partnership with the JAA, JN General Insurance Company and the FIA Foundation.

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