Our major highways tributaries are now safer thanks to extra and active patrols. Many lives will be saved as a result of this noble endeavor to keep Belize’s roads safe.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Belize Road Safety Operational Steering Committee along with the Minister of Transport and NEMO representative, Tirso Galvez, Chief Transport Officer, received eighteen patrol motorcycles from the supplier, Motor Solutions Limited of Belize, at approximately 9 am on Thursday in the presence of the Mayors and representatives of Mayors.
The 18 compact 2020 Kawasaki ABS Patrol Motorcycles will be utilized by municipal traffic officers to patrol the nation’s highways. The four-stroke, two-cylinder, liquid-cooled Kawasaki is capable of going 55 miles per gallon of fuel. It comes with four-year insurance and maintenance. Each bike costs $21,000.00 and comes with a siren to pull over traffic offenders.
Mayor Earl Trapp and Councilor George Boiton proudly represented the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena at the handing over where they received two brand new motorcycles on behalf of the Traffic Department.
A statement from the San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town Council is as follows: “on behalf of SISE Town Council, we would like to thank all stakeholders involved. We will continue to work diligently in meeting the road safety project objectives as we continue to reinforce safety in our community.”
In 2019, the Government of Belize received loan financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of Belize’s Second Road Safety Project. This event was to roll out 18 fully equipped motorcycles, which were handed over to Municipal Traffic Officers in support of Belize’s Road Safety Master Plan 2030 and the Municipal Road Safety Operational Plan. The partnership with CDB builds on institutional capacity along with the provision of resources to carry out the task to save lives from road traffic crashes.
As a nation, working together has resulted in significant improvements in road safety in Belize. One can look back at the results from the first road safety project, when Belize was the recipient of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) grant funds to assist in the development of an “Investment Plan of Action” for improving road safety in Belize in December 2010. This cooperation launched in Belize was CDB’s first of its kind as a multi-year road safety project, using a comprehensive and integrated approach which included the United Nations Pillars of Action for Road Safety.
Belize then prioritized road safety as a key factor in development and a loan was approved to support interventions to build the country’s road safety management capacity, improve the safety of road infrastructure and improving post-crash care. This project served as a catalyst to insert road safety in key areas of development. The project also featured an education component, which focused on aspects to promote improved awareness and behavior change among motorists and pedestrians to interact safely using a safe system approach, improved enforcement of traffic laws, all in support of “Vision Zero”, meaning that no-one would be killed or seriously injured as a result of a traffic crash. Belize also benefited from support for the Youth and Road Safety Capacity Building Project through a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Belize (GOB). During the first Road Safety Project, Belize completed the Belize Road Safety Master Plan 2030 and the Road Safety Operational Plans with the nine municipalities in the country.
In 2015, Belize received the IRF Flagship Road Safety Award at the 4th International Road Federation (IRF) Caribbean Regional Congress. In 2016 Belize received world recognition by being awarded the prestigious Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award for its leadership in the Belize Road Safety Initiative.
Positive strides have been taken to help contribute to increased awareness in reducing the severity of road traffic deaths and injuries. However, it will take ongoing combined efforts of all road users, particularly drivers as their behavior is key for good judgment. There is no “silver bullet” to fix the issue of traffic crashes, but speed continues to contribute to approximately one-third of all fatal road traffic crashes in high-income countries, and up to half in low- and middle-income countries. Belize is no exception, hence the reason to join the world-wide efforts to contribute to saving lives from traffic collisions on highways and in urban areas. Twenty traffic enforcement officers participated in the Defensive Driving Training in December 2019 as they prepared for this important day on Thursday. The approach for continued capacity building also took place on Thursday as twenty enforcement officers participated in a two-hour training session at Motor Solutions Ltd in Belmopan on how to manage the patrol motorcycles responsibly.
