Home Affairs Minister supports call for stricter fines for traffic-related offences

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn on Friday reaffirmed Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s call for more harsh punishments for persons who use the roads recklessly.
The minister noted that the recklessness on the roadways is due to the absence of proper law enforcement and indicated his full support in the consideration for increased fines and stricter law enforcement.
Benn was at the time addressing the launch of the Guyana Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum 2024 and Road Safety Campaign.

“It is my view that we should increase the traffic fines by three times. We intend to put in place the requisite technology, the tracking of the cases at the courts and other places with the effort of the Guyana Police Force to make sure that we make those people who continue to be reckless and dangerous on the roads that they must pay the requisite fines and sanctions. They could afford it. So, I will Push forward the effort along with the Attorney General to increase road traffic fines by at least three times. I think that will help us to bring the situation under some control.”
Moreover, the Minister also revealed that bribery of police officers contributes significantly to the lawlessness on the roadways, as such he urged law enforcers not to exploit persons who violate traffic laws.
“The Commissioner of Police may have forgotten to speak about the body cameras which the traffic policemen will be fitted out with, to identify the engagement between themselves and members of the public. And we have to get the police from desisting in some cases with road traffic offenders for using the situation to extort them. Well, I have had a few calls and I had the pleasure on several occasions to tell them and to tell the police nearby to them to charge them.”

Attorney General Anil Nandlall had issued the call for harsher penalties for persons who use the roadways recklessly.
“The Government of Guyana has decided to take a series of measures to confront this serious problem. Legislative reform is one of those measures. In this regard, the Government is proposing to strengthen and expand existing legislation and impose more punitive measures,” Nandlall has stated.
One such, was the amendment to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act which makes causing the death of someone through drunk driving, a case of vehicular manslaughter.
Back in November 2022, the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022, which is aimed at toughening existing laws to prevent drunk driving and the carnage on the road it results in was passed in the National Assembly in the absence of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).
Guyana Times had reported that in a bid to ensure safer roadways, draft amendments to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, as well as the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill were approved by the Cabinet in March of 2022, to toughen up the penalties for drunk drivers – and the bars that serve them.
The Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act sought to amend the Principal Act and put in place a new Section, 35A. This new Section makes causing the death of someone through drunk driving a case of vehicular manslaughter.
The draft Bill also amends Section 39A of the Principal Act – the penalty for driving while over the alcohol limit – replacing the $7500 fine with $200,000, and the sentence of 12 months with 24 months.
It had also been proposed back in March 2022, that the penalty for driving under the influence and losing control of your vehicle be increased from its current $30,000 to $60,000 fine/imprisonment for 12 months to $200,000 for first-time offenders and $300,000 for second-time offenders.