The Road Safety Unit (RSU) is urging motorists and other road users to exercise caution when traversing the nation’s roadways, despite road crashes and fatalities trending down.

This call comes in light of the 305 lives lost on the nation’s roadways due to 284 fatal collisions up to Thursday, October 5.

According to the RSU, this is a 16 per cent decline in road fatalities when compared to this same period last year.

Motorcyclists accounted for the highest number of road users killed since the start of the year, 33 per cent, followed by pedestrians, 19 per cent, and private vehicle drivers, 18 per cent.

“Motorcyclists and motorists must ensure they use proper protective equipment when traversing the roadways, and stick to the speed limits in the different areas. Pedestrians must remember to look right, then left, then right again, and use safe places to cross. They should also wear light or bright clothing at night and walk facing the oncoming traffic,” said the director of the road safety unit, Deidre Hudson-Sinclair.

The parishes of St Andrew, St Catherine and Westmoreland recorded the highest number of road fatalities.

A total of 488 road fatalities occurred on the nation’s roadways last year.