The Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is reporting that almost one year after “Operation Safeway” was launched, there has been a marked improvement in terms of reducing road accidents in Guyana.
On September 15, 2016, the Traffic Chief launched “Operation Safeway” with the intention of decreasing accidents and deaths on the roads and promoting better road safety awareness. Giving a brief report on the programme’s success thus far, Traffic Chief Dion Moore was quoted in the media as saying that “Operation Safeway” “has borne us some amount of fruit”. That fruit is a reduction in the number of fatal accidents this year compared to the same period last year.
The Traffic Chief reported that this year, to date there has been a 22 per cent decrease in accidents and a 20 per cent decrease in deaths in comparison to the same period last year. From January to September 2017, the GPF has recorded 65 accidents with 72 deaths. He noted that speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol remain the leading causes of accidents on the roadways.
It should be noted that when the campaign was launched in 2016, the GPF had already recorded 89 accidents with 96 deaths. That was a 33 per cent increase in fatal accidents and a 17 per cent increase in deaths compared to 2015. The year 2016 was one of the deadliest for road users with 116 fatal accidents resulting in 127 deaths by the end of that year.
If we are to go by the statistics provided by the GPF, even though the achievement has not been that great, it could still be regarded as an improvement which needs to continue. The GPF must continue to mount certain targeted campaigns to halt the level of lawlessness we see daily on our roadways.
Almost every week there are reports in the media of someone being killed or badly injured on our roadways. Despite action on several fronts, including Government enacting the relevant legislation, civil society groups mounting numerous protest marches for stronger action against reckless drivers, and the Traffic Department carrying out a number of ‘campaigns’, the road fatality rates remain unacceptably high.
The reasons for the high rates of road accidents are well known and there is no need to rehash them here except to say that, while there are various factors which impact on road safety, there is little doubt that the single most important in a general sense is enforcement of the traffic laws. The Government has enacted the relevant legislation in relation to driving under the influence, loud music in vehicles, overloading, speeding, etc, but if the laws are not adequately implemented, they become useless. It would be interesting to find out how many of the drivers/conductors who are stopped for breaking a traffic law/s are actually charged and brought before the courts.
While it is not our intention to paint the entire Police Force with the same brush, as there are many professional and honest officers within the Force, we are convinced that unless what is perceived as the endemic corruption in the organisation, and the traffic section in particular, is addressed in a systematic way, we will not achieve the desired results.
Importantly too is that along with the measures being undertaken by the law enforcement authorities to reduce road fatalities, there is need for all Guyanese to move away from the culture of disregard and irresponsibility in relation to using the roadways. In this regard, the Education Ministry and other relevant stakeholders should examine the possibility of strengthening the school curriculum with the aim of increasing knowledge, skills and understanding among children and young people about the responsible use of our roadways. Similar efforts should also be made targeting the adult population as they too are sometimes found to be irresponsible when using our roadways.
Too many of our citizens continue to lose their lives or are becoming permanently disabled at a young age due to road accidents. For a small country such as ours, we cannot afford to continue along this path.
