Dear Editor,
There is a very disturbing tendency that has been developed by some drivers (particularly minibus drivers) who use Homestretch Avenue, and it is that of undertaking while passing other vehicles. Not only is this practice of undertaking illegal, it is also very dangerous. This illegal practice has been happening for quite some time, and it seems as if nothing is being done by law enforcement to stop this illegal and most dangerous activity.
The number of near-misses one can see while driving along Homestretch Avenue is quite alarming and appalling. That there have not been more accidents on that road must be the manifestation of divine intervention. I have seen and experienced minibuses racing up the inside of lanes, abusing the road shoulders, blaring their horns for drivers to give way for them to pass. Unsuspecting law-abiding drivers are often so startled by the sudden cacophony of horns that they instinctively pull away, into the path of oncoming traffic. Luckily, and again perhaps by divine intervention, accidents do not occur.
Any driver taking a vehicle up the road shoulder with horns blaring while forcing a way through an undertaking manoeuvre is really asking the law-abiding citizen who is driving in his or her lane to move over to provide him/her clear passage. But where is the law-abiding driver expected to go? Homestretch Avenue has one lane heading east and the other west. Our drivers must learn lane discipline.
It is long past the time for the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force to put effective measures in place to stop this illegal and dangerous practice of undertaking on Homestretch Avenue. Errant drivers must be charged and made to endure harsh penalties. This illegal practice of undertaking along Homestretch Avenue must stop immediately!
Yours faithfully,
Richard Francois
