by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Oct. 26, 2022

Billboards bearing messages aimed at promoting road safety have been placed along each of Belize’s four major highways as part of an initiative being carried out as a component of The Second Road Safety Project, which is a collaboration between the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Ministry of Health & Wellness (MoHW), with funding support from the United States government. The project is an attempt to reduce the number of road traffic incidents (RTI’s) in the country, which has increased considerably in recent years.

The billboards will be focused particularly on two primary causes of traffic accidents: speeding and drunk driving, and will remind drivers not to ‘wait till it’s too late’ to make the right decision before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle to drive on the roads and highways.

RTIs are recognized as one of the leading causes of mortality/morbidity, and it has been predicted that by 2030, such accidents will be the fifth cause of mortality in the world. According to data from Joint Intelligence Coordinating Centre (JICC), from January to September 2022, there were 234 road traffic incidents in Belize and 338 road traffic injuries, 63 of which were fatal.

A billboard has been installed in each district in the country at the following locations: Mile 6.2 on the Philip Goldson Highway; Mile 78.5 on the Philip Goldson Highway; Mile 66.5 on the George Price Highway; Mile 14 on the George Price Highway; Mile 8 on the Southern Highway; and Mile 6.5 on the Stann Creek Valley Road.