Teach driving at primary, high school

THE EDITOR, Sir: AS JAMAICANS, we tend to do our best at whatever it is that we are doing, and unfortunately, this includes pernicious behaviour as well.

Jamaicans at home have grown accustomed to the new normal of negative behavioural patterns such as indiscipline in every facet of our lives, especially on our roadways.

The Road Safety Unit reported that some 377 Jamaicans lost their lives in vehicular accidents in 2016, and that carnage has carried over into 2017.

We must begin to take more innovative approaches towards solving this problem. One such approach may involve the Ministry of Education and Youth. If we are truly serious about countering this scourge, we should explore introducing driving education into the school curriculum, starting in a theoretical sense at the primary level, and progressing to a hands-on approach at the secondary level.

There exists challenges to the implementation of such a measure, but a pilot programme, inclusive of schools located in parishes with the most road fatalities, could be explored and the findings extrapolated.

We must certainly teach our young people safe driving, especially our young men, who account for the majority of casualties. If we start now, perhaps the next generation may be spared the current one’s pain. NOEL MATHERSON noelmatherson@gmail.com