Chronically late motorists fuel risky driving on roadways

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is warning that reckless driving habits are being fuelled by a growing number of motorists leaving home later than usual and then attempting to make up for lost time once on the road. This trend, police say, is creating dangerous conditions for all road users.
Traffic officers have observed that instead of planning ahead, many drivers attempt to beat the clock by overtaking in long lines of traffic and speeding through heavily congested routes. To address this, police ranks are now deployed at key intersections to manage traffic flow and clamp down on overtaking.

Superintendent of Police Raun Clarke explained the challenge in detail.
“What you find is that those persons join in the line and would overtake so as to reach faster. They’re leaving their homes late but want to arrive early. So we have those challenges which we have to deal with. However, we are having ranks throughout the region at the critical intersections to deal with persons who are going to overtake and at the same time, we’re directing traffic so that persons can reach their destinations safely.” Adding to this, Superintendent Maniram Jagnandan reminded that the realities of traffic volumes in Guyana have changed over the years, making the old practice of leaving home at the last minute impractical.
“Years ago, when you used to leave home at six o’clock in the morning and reach your destination at 6:30, you cannot do that now, especially in the morning and in the afternoon. So we are urging persons – if you have to reach the embassy for eight in the morning, you have to leave very early.”
Police have recorded a consistent increase in the number of vehicles on the nation’s roadways, with thousands of new registrations annually adding to congestion in Georgetown and other regional centres. The rise includes not only private cars but also minibuses, hire cars and commercial lorries that compete for limited road space. Traffic Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mahendra Singh, noted that this rapid increase has forced Police to move away from traditional reactive methods of traffic management toward a more technology-driven, proactive approach. “Based on analysis that would have been done over the past two years until today, we recognise that volumes are something we have had to address. And there isn’t a time of day when you can predict large volumes—those same spaces you mentioned remain congested at different hours.”
He added that the Police Force is increasingly supported by surveillance tools and real-time monitoring.
“Our posture has moved significantly from reactive to a greater level of responsiveness, aided by technology. Where we were not present, or are not present, to have an appreciation of what obtains on the ground, we are supported by the ‘smart city, now smart country’ CCTV system, which is unfolding. So our posture is one that now responds significantly in less time.”
The deployment of smart cameras across the capital and selected regions has been credited with not only deterring reckless driving but also enabling quicker interventions by traffic ranks. These measures however, are just one part of a broader strategy, which also includes community education and collaboration with other state agencies to manage the surge in vehicles.
According to the World Bank, Guyana’s vehicle ownership rate has been steadily increasing in recent years as more citizens acquire private cars. While this represents economic growth and mobility, it also places heavy pressure on an already limited roadway network.
Police are urging drivers to adjust to this reality by practising time management, obeying traffic laws, and exercising patience. Authorities stress that leaving home late and rushing to make up time endangers not just the driver but every road user – from pedestrians and cyclists to schoolchildren and commuters.