Jamaica-Specific Road Hazards, Road Conditions and Defensive Driving
The road you actually meet
Jamaican roads vary from modern highways to narrow hill roads with blind corners, broken edges and no lighting. Expect potholes, especially after rain; standing water that hides their depth; landslips and fallen branches in hilly areas; gravel and sand washed onto coastal bends; and narrow bridges. Drive at a speed from which you can stop within what you can see, not the posted limit.
Other road users to anticipate
Route taxis and buses stop abruptly and pull out without much warning. Trucks are slow on hills and may be overloaded. Livestock, dogs and pedestrians appear around bends. At night, unlit carts, pedestrians and broken-down vehicles are common. Assume other drivers have not seen you and drive so that their mistake does not become your crash.
Defensive driving habits
Look 12 seconds ahead, keep an escape route, cover the brake near junctions and blind bends, and use the two-second gap, doubled in rain. If you must cross a flooded stretch, check the depth first, drive through slowly in first gear and dry the brakes afterwards. After a pothole strike, check the tyre and steering at the first safe stop.
Worked example
You come around a hill bend on a wet road and find a truck stopped half in your lane. You have already slowed for the bend and are covering the brake, so you can stop within the visible distance. Sounding the horn and forcing past would put you into the path of anything coming the other way, so you wait until the driver moves or you can see it is clear.
Traps that cost marks
- Driving at the posted limit on a road you cannot see far enough along.
- Assuming a taxi will signal before it stops.
- Entering flood water without checking depth.
- Overtaking on a blind hill bend.