The Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) is calling on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to step up their enforcement efforts to combat the careless use of the roadways. This call comes on the heels of the re-launch of the White Night campaign.
GNRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen said that while they have relaunched the White Night campaign, greater enforcement was needed to ensure that drivers
The car on the motorcycle from the Versailles accident
adhere to all traffic laws.
“The Road Safety Council is calling for more rigorous enforcement by the Guyana Police Force and is saying that there should be a widespread call for greater enforcement…the Road Safety Council knows and any research would show you that enforcement is the main key to the reduction of crashes on our roadways,” Doorgen argues.
She added that there should be calls by society for the Police Commissioner and the GPF to do more than they are doing because to have multiple road deaths in
The car involved in the La Grange accident
one day was unacceptable.
“We at the Road Safety Council are working with the Police Force to try to reduce deaths by trying to hype the White Night campaign and because of the glitch, we did not have a major campaign as expected in Georgetown. Therefore, we are working with the Traffic Department on hyping the campaign to the level we expect it to be,” she added.
The White Night campaign was relaunched on Friday last at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara. It seeks to encourage all road users to abstain from driving while under the influence of alcohol, or to designate a driver if an occasion calls for drinking, or to stay away from drinking if they have to drive.
However, drivers are saying that driving under the influence or speeding was not the only factor to consider when addressing the issue of road safety.
“The roads in Guyana are deplorable. We have come to accept things of inferior quality in Guyana. What is sad and often enough, enraging, is the fact that we have such high incidence of road fatalities. What angers me more are the errant drivers, lax rule of law concerning the same, and no clear demarcations and
Guyana National Road Safety Council Coordinator Ramona Doorgen
maintenance of our roadways,” driver Cassandra Persaud said.
“It’s just this morning (Tuesday) while driving I fell into a hole in the middle of the road covered with water! What is worse is that the heavy downpour widens the already gargantuan potholes. In addition, even though all the bitter complaints, the Government refuses to adequately address the issue,” she added.
Persaud also called for harsher penalties for errant drivers, noting that they were not only a hazard to themselves but other drivers and citizens as well.
It is just mid-week and three persons have already lost their lives owing to vehicular accidents. Michael Totaram, 46; Wilbert Sydney, 28; and Wesley Patoir, 20, were all victims of vehicular accidents between June 4 and 7.
On Tuesday around 23:00h, a young driver, Joshua Balkissoon, jumped the traffic light at Ogle and slammed into another car. The young man was reportedly speeding when he failed to adhere to the red light and suffered a broken leg and several lacerations about his body, while the other driver had minor injuries.
On Sunday and Monday, there were three accidents reported in West Demerara, all as a result of speeding. A car slammed into a median at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) while another collided with a motorcycle at Versailles, WBD, and a lorry hit two cars at Crane, West Coast Demerara.
As a result of these accidents, drivers are encouraging the GPF and GNRSC to have both White Night and White Day campaigns to educate the driving population, especially younger drivers, on the need for caution while using the roadways.
The campaign will run from June to December, in all Police divisions.
