Harshest of penalties for drunken drivers, bar owners – Nandlall

In light of last weekend’s tragic road carnage, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has warned that harsh penalties will be imposed on persons caught driving drunk, as well as on bar owners who continue to sell alcohol to drivers in breach of the law.
Between Saturday night and Sunday morning last, eight young persons, including 6 teenagers, were killed in separate accidents on Guyana’s roadways – something which Nandlall described as a national tragedy. According to the Minister, this is an extraordinary problem that requires extraordinary measures to be taken to address this national scourge.
He pointed out that many accidents on the country’s roadways are attributed to drunk driving; as such, harsh penalties will be enforced to curb this practice.
“We are going to move very, very harshly on the bar owners. We have already put the law in place. You cannot sell alcohol to people who are driving, you cannot sell alcohol to people who are drunk, you cannot sell alcohol to minors. We have put it in the law, and persons who are found guilty of drunken driving, the penalties are very, very harsh… And we will ask the courts to impose the harshest of penalties,” the Attorney General stated during his weekly programme, Issues in the News.
The recently introduced Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Act 2022 calls for liquor licence holders to play a more active role against drinking and driving; for one, by avoiding the sale of alcohol to inebriated persons who are likely to leave the premises by driving.
During a recent interview with Guyana Times, Traffic Chief, Superintendent Dennis Stephen, said bar owners are cooperating with the Police in enforcing this law.
“They are working with us as it relates to having persons who are found under the influence of alcohol and rendered incapable of driving. They would call them a taxi to take them home, [or] they’ll call the Police to assist in that aspect,” the Traffic Chief related.
Meanwhile, the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022 also saw tougher penalties for those caught driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The penalty for driving while over the alcohol limit was changed from a $7500 fine to now $200,000, and the sentence from 12 months to 24 months.
Additionally, the penalty for driving under the influence and losing control of your vehicle has been increased from the $30,000 to $60,000 fine and 12 months imprisonment to now $200,000 fine for first-time offenders and $300,000 for second-time offenders. It also provides for a 12-month suspension of licence for persons convicted of DUI offences.
Only earlier this week, the Guyana Police Force reported that some 33 drunk drivers were arrested and charged within the past two weeks for driving under the influence. This was following a Police Traffic Operation conducted throughout Regional Division Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) between August 11 and 26, 2023.
Nevertheless, Minister Nandlall outlined during his programme that Government will have to embark on a national public awareness campaign to deter persons from engaging in practices such as drunk driving, which can result in road fatalities, as seen last weekend. He noted that Guyana cannot continue to endure such horrific national losses.
“We cannot continue with this type of carnage, with this type of senseless killings of our young people in particular. And that is why we are passing these Road Traffic Laws… because this is a matter of national proportion where we are losing our young people in this manner. We have a small population, so we can’t allow, we can’t afford this kind of haemorrhage of our most important assets – our young people, and that is what is happening here. In my view, all of these accidents can be avoided. I don’t believe in untimely death. These are avoidable, horrific accidents,” the Attorney General contended.
Four teenagers – Daveanand Singh, called Vickram, the 17-year-old driver of Lot 1566 Providence, East Bank Demerara; 19-year-old Amiesha Jaikaran of La Grange Old Road, WBD; 18-year-old Divyanie Varshanie Narine of Kitty, Georgetown; and Daniel Tirbeni, called Yogi, a 19-year-old from La Grange, WBD – were killed in an early Sunday morning accident on the Canal #2 Polder, West Bank Demerara Public Road.
Another teenager, 19-year-old Rahul Thakoor of Lot 19 Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice, also died in the wee hours of Sunday on the #11 Public Road, East Berbice.
The fourth teenager, 19-year-old Shawn Persaud of Huntley, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, was killed along with two others – Elijah Pellew, 21, of Lot 38 Unity, Mahaica, ECD; and 21-year-old Raymond Rose of Lot 57 Supply, Mahaica – was killed in an accident on the Unity Public Road, Mahaica on Saturday night.