Seventeen people were killed in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) in 2019, the same as was recorded for the previous year.
Dead: Dominic Tyler Sulker
Of the 17, seven were pedestrians including two children, six motorcyclists, two drivers, one occupant of a motor vehicle and one pedal cyclist being a child.
In addition, the traffic department recorded 39 serious accidents for 2019 when compared to 41 in the previous year. There were also 52 damage accidents compared to 65 in 2018.
Dead: Kevin Sinclair
In all, there was a total of 178 accidents compared to 197 the previous year.
“We have noticed that over the weekend period is our trouble period and from Friday evenings into Monday mornings. So, it is the entire weekend and then on holidays,” Commander Brutus revealed.
He further stated that most of the accidents occurred between 18:00h and midnight.
Dead: Gurdatt Hemraj
“In terms of the factors for the causes of accidents, speeding tops the list, driving under the influence (DUI). Sometimes you have speeding and DUI – they go hand in hand. Inattentiveness by the use of the cell phone while driving is also one of the factors which lead to accidents,” the Commander said while noting that the failure to observe the rules of the road is also a factor.
Hazards on the road such as derelict vehicles, vehicles parked dangerously and other objects left on the road shoulders that should not be there have contributed to most of the road accidents.
One of the accident scenes of 2019
“When we look at the offices that we target to curb fatal accidents, in general, is speeding.”
However, 1923 cases were made out against errant drivers. Forty-nine cases were for driving under the influence; 17 persons were charged for dangerous driving, 323 for failing to wear seat belts and 58 for failing to wear safety helmets. In all, a total of 5861 are before the court for general traffic offences.
“As road users, we need to pay attention to the rules of the road. There are published speed limits on the road and this is based on engineers that had the speed limits fixed to that rate because of the general circumstances surrounding the conditions of the road, the housing and the communities around and the width of the road. All those factors are used to determine the speed limit of a certain area,” the Commander added.
He also stated that drivers also need to consider other road users.
“You should always anticipate that the other person will make the mistake, [hone] your driving to prevent an accident rather than going fast unnecessarily. You also need to cater for animals on our roads. Of course, from time to time we will have the stray catchers impounding the animals but then they are still instances where animals are on the road.”
He noted that in Region Six and more particularly on the Corentyne, drivers need to consider rice harvesting and the wetness on the roadway in most instances.
Nevertheless, he added that every life that is lost on the roadway is one too many.
