“Critical thinking” needed to address lawlessness on roadways – Pres Ali

…charges Police Force to develop strategy

The Guyana Police Force’s Annual Officers’ Conference got underway on Wednesday, and President Dr Irfaan Ali has instructed the top brass of the country’s premier law enforcement agency to come up with a clear strategy to tackle the continued lawlessness on Guyana’s roadways.
Over the next few days, senior officers of the Police Force will gather at the Mess Annex, Eve Leary in Georgetown, to discuss and plan key operational strategies for the coming year.
Addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony on Wednesday morning, President Ali highlighted several areas that the GPF needs to focus on during their deliberations, including traffic management.
“This traffic issue is a specific area that a lot of critical thinking at this Annual Officer’s Conference is required. And I’m sure that we all will agree that we need a holistic approach… So, it’s infrastructure, investment, enforcement, education, accountability and partnership. These are factors, in my mind, that must form the foundational pillar through which we develop this strategy in addressing the lawlessness on roadways,” the Head of State posited.
At the end of 2024, a 21 percent reduction in fatal accidents were recorded. But according to the Guyanese leader, while there has been tremendous improvement in curbing road accidents, a lot more must be done, especially when it comes to the reckless behaviour of truck drivers.
“There is not a single person in this room, who will tell me there is not an element of uneasiness if you have to drive to the airport, and it’s not [only] during the day; it’s 24/7 with the trucks… We have to implement strong measures to limit the speed of those trucks, but we also have a problem – the average age of a truck driver years ago might have been 30 plus; today, it’s 22 or 23,” he noted.
President Ali pointed out that these young drivers do not have sufficient experience on the roadways before being allowed to drive trucks, which he noted are completely different from driving a motorcar, especially taking into consideration breaking speed and the load factor.
In the same breath, however, the Head of State acknowledge that there is a gap in the human resource assets in Guyana’s rapidly growing economy. He noted that in order to continue this development trajectory, law and enforcement will play critical roles in ensuring these truck drivers adhere to rules and regulations when operating on the roadways.
While the e-ticketing system, surveillance cameras and speed indicators have been implemented to enhance traffic management, President Ali says stronger penalties might be the answers to effect these changes.
“It’s not the best approach that penalties must drive change. The best approach is that self-consciousness, societal pressure, doing the right thing, should be able to drive change and drive home the point that we have to do the right thing. But unfortunately, when that doesn’t work, you have to go to stronger measures, which is the penalties,” the Head of State stressed.
Only last November, President Ali had announced a series of sweeping measures for errant road users including the suspension of drivers’ licenses after three speeding tickets, especially for truck drivers.
Flanked by a number of senior Guyana Police Force officials on a November 21, 2024 live broadcast, Ali had said “We cannot continue to have this type of indiscipline on our roadways, especially with the trucks and truck drivers.”
“We will hold truck drivers responsible. I’ve asked the Attorney General to examine the laws to see where there are gaps, so that truck owners can also have a responsible of ensuring their drivers work within guidelines. As it is now the law provides for the suspension of licence, and I’ve asked the Traffic Chief, Commissioner of Police and the leadership of the Guyana Police Force, to take immediate steps to have this law implemented fully.”
The Head of State had also lamented that the 18 suspensions of drivers’ licenses that were recorded for the year at the time, was not reflective of the magnitude of the speeding that was taking place on the country’s roadways.
Since then, the Police’s Traffic Department has strengthened enforcement efforts with, among other things, more body cameras for traffic ranks.
Meanwhile, in supporting those interventions rolled out the Guyanese Leader last year, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) had called for a number of interventions, including the revision and enforcement of the minimum age for commercial vehicle driver’s licenses, especially trucks, mini buses and taxis.
In statement, the PSC proposed a review of the issuance of driver’s licenses, particularly for heavy-duty truck drivers, as well as an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act to increase the minimum age to 21 years for commercial vehicle driver’s licenses (trucks, buses, and taxis).