97 persons died on Guyana’s roadways to date – Traffic Chief

In a concerning update from the Traffic Department, Senior Superintendent Mahendra Singh has reported that 97 individuals have lost their lives in road accidents on Guyana’s roadways so far this year. This total includes 42 fatal accidents and 55 road incidents.
The traffic chief explained that some of those accidents were preventable and could have been avoided if people paid more attention to road safety, especially pedestrians.
He highlighted a troubling trend among pedestrians, noting that many walk into traffic without regard for their safety.
“Persons pay no heed to safety, especially those on foot. Some persons think that when they are crossing a major roadway or thoroughfare like it is someplace remote, they could just walk across without the fear of anything coming to strike you…,” Singh said.
The statistics suggest a persistent disregard for safety among road users, with individuals continuing to engage in risky behaviors. Superintendent Singh criticised the selfish attitude of some pedestrians, stating, “…we have CCTV footage to support what I am saying… some persons use the roads with no feelings for themselves and no caution for other persons”.
However, despite these challenges, Singh reported that the country has seen a notable improvement in road safety overall, with 47 fewer accidents and a 19 per cent decrease in fatal accidents this year compared to last year.
This improvement is attributed to increased enforcement and collaborative efforts between the Force with various ministries and organisations.
He said the Police Force has been engaging with these ministries and organisations to improve road safety infrastructure, installing better lighting, and implementing other measures aimed at reducing the risk for all road users.
“We continue the enforcement of education. We continue to engage the Ministry of Public Works and every other stakeholder to ensure that as far as possible, road signage is supported by road marking and or lighting infrastructure, to generally enable the road-using population to use it with good visibility, proper surfaces and so on,” he explained.
As such, the traffic chief called for better use of the roads to reduce the death toll further. (G9)