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As Jamaica aims to cut down on the number of deadly road accidents, a senior paediatric orthopaedic surgeon with first-hand knowledge of the devastating effects is calling for road safety education to be reintroduced in schools.

"We have allowed it to slip for quite a while," said Dr Warren Blake, consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

"When I used to go primary school, police used to come by the school and teach us proper road safety techniques. My impression is that a lot of this has died down, although I believe they are trying to reintroduce it."

The surgeon, who now sees young crash victims after they are admitted from the emergency room, says many of the cases that reach him involve major trauma to the limbs or head. These severe injuries, he said, require urgent surgical attention to reduce the risk of infection and long-term disability.

"You have to try and get them into theatre in a speedy fashion. Children cannot tolerate a large amount of blood loss. So you have to stabilise them first, then send them to the ward and think about surgery."

The physical impact is often permanent. Blake recalled a particularly haunting case of two brothers who were in a motor vehicle crash on South Camp Road in Kingston.

"One lost limbs and the other one was very badly damaged," he said. "They wouldn't be able to run up and down and engage in normal activity as young kids normally do."

In some cases, children require external fixation -- a procedure involving metal pins inserted through the skin and into the bone, held in place by rods outside the body.

Beyond the physical wounds, the emotional fallout is heavy. "In some instances, they may have lost loved ones in the accident and they will be aware that these loved ones have passed off," Blake shared.

"We do have a few cases where that has happened and we have to refer them to the psychologist and the psychiatrist," he said.

From his experience, many motor vehicle-related injuries are avoidable.

"A lot of the kids chase across the road unsupervised, without knowing the proper thing -- look left, look right, and look left again before crossing," he said.

He stressed that children and motorcyclists are two of the most vulnerable road users, and should be a key focus in any national road safety push.

"We really need to focus on these groups," he said firmly. "Because dangerous things can happen if they go across the road carelessly."