Ease dust, noise, reckless driving on ECD – Jagdeo to truck drivers

With ongoing construction activities along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor, truck drivers as well as contractors have been cautioned against being reckless and causing disruptions to citizens.
This warning was issued by Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during a meeting on Wednesday with truck operators involved in housing and infrastructure projects along the ECD corridor.

The meeting, which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, saw Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill as well as other technical staff from various ministries also in attendance.
Wednesday’s engagement was convened to address residents’ complaints about disruptions caused by the trucks working on major infrastructure projects. The concerns raised included dust pollution, noise, reckless driving, and the noise and vibrations caused by the trucks’ tailgates.
During the meeting, the Vice President emphasised that all contractors and subcontractors will be held accountable for these disruptions. He noted that moving forward, the involved agencies will collaborate with the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to implement traffic measures. This will include designated routes for trucks to access their work sites and the establishment of speed limits.
Additionally, the Vice President reminded contractors of their obligation to periodically water any dry and dusty roads, and to ensure their trucks are covered while transporting materials.
With a construction boom being experienced across the country, the Guyana Government has constantly been imploring with truck drivers against creating unsafe road conditions for other users.
Only back in February, President Dr Irfaan Ali had cautioned the Police Force to come up with a clear strategy to tackle the continued lawlessness on Guyana’s roadways.
Though there was a 21 percent reduction in fatal accidents at the end of 2024, the Head of State contended that a lot more must be done to curb road accidents, especially 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 drive years ago might have been 30 plus, today, it’s 22 or 23,” he noted at the GPF’s Annual Officers’ Conference in February.
President Ali had 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 acknowledged that there is a gap in 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.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) had previously 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).
Moreover, while the e-ticketing system, surveillance cameras and speed indicators have been implemented to enhance traffic management, President Ali had noted during his February address to senior cops that 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.
Since then, the Police’s Traffic Department has strengthened enforcement efforts with, among other things, more body cameras for traffic ranks.
Just Tuesday, President Ali handed over another 5,000 new body cameras to the Guyana Police Force as part of the Government’s efforts to modernise police operations.