Six hundred and eleven lives have been lost on our roads in the past 10 years, says Acting Commissioner of Police, Rusiate Tudravu.

He told the Heads of Traffic Departments from around the region, “No matter how hard Police try to create awareness on road safety, drivers and pedestrians continued to take advice lightly”.

These statistics were highlighted during their three-day regional workshop at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi yesterday.

More than 20 Heads of the Traffic Departments from 19 Pacific Islands are at the meeting.

“In Fiji’s context if we were to look at the past 10-year period from 2008 to 2018, 611 lives have been claimed on our roads and this was amidst heavy public road safety campaigns and awareness,” ACP Tudravu said.

“All were intended to raise awareness to reduce the national death toll which continued to rise.”

He said some would question the laws and whether they were enough to act as a deterrent.

It could be a possible area of discussion over the next few days.

“The reality is that when a life is lost, the fingers are immediately pointed at us and our inability to keep people safe on our roads,” ACP Tudravu said.

“Some say it’s the human factor in that no matter how much we try, drivers and pedestrians will continue to take road safety lightly. This is reflected in our annual statistics.”

He told the Heads of the Traffic Department it was their duty to prevent more accidents taking place.

The workshop will be an opportunity to see how the Pacific can respond to controlling road fatalities and accidents.

“Fiji’s aim is to achieve an accident free road and is pursuing all possible avenues available,” he said

“Fiji is ready to assist with ongoing efforts whether it be through training or people to people exchange programmes.”

Edited by Percy Kean

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