Over 370 speeding tickets issued to errant drivers along EBD corridor – GPF

– urges drivers to slow down

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has reported that speeding tickets for errant drivers in Division 4B (East Bank Demerara) for this year so far have exceeded last year’s record of approximately 370.
This is according to Sergeant Rose, who is in charge of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway Patrol Base. He said this phenomenon has prompted the police to intensify their enforcement efforts.
“The more you plead with drivers to slow down, it’s like you are asking them to do the opposite. Presently, we have an increase in fatalities; we have an increase compared to last year in the same period. When you check, we also have an increase in the number of accidents this year,” he said.
Despite knowing the road conditions are not ideal, drivers continue to speed, he said. In response, Sergeant Rose said, he and his team have increased their enforcement measures. This includes changing the locations of their speed checks to catch more offenders and deter reckless driving.

“What we intend to do is get out there and be there… People would see the police, and when they pass the police, it’s a whole different ball game. So, what we do from time to time, we stagger it. One time you will see us at Yarrowkabra, then you will see us at Long Creek…” he explained.
Even with these measures, drivers have found ways to alert each other about police presence, using signals such as flashing lights or making phone calls.
“They have a way where they would flash at each other or call each other and tell them that police or Rose is on the road,” Sergeant Rose noted.
Sergeant Rose has made a heartfelt plea to drivers to slow down and exercise more caution on the roads. He has emphasized the importance of everyone contributing to the reduction of accidents and fatalities.
“Sometimes you catch drivers doing 130. Just slow down! If you leave at a certain time, you will arrive on time. If you know for a fact you are tired, we are asking you to pull to the left or right of the road and take a five,” he appealed.
The most recent fatal accident on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway occurred a month ago, and claimed the lives of five individuals, including two who perished in a two-vehicle collision at Long Creek. Those who have perished in accidents along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway recently are: Dwaylon Farrell, Head of the Industrial Technology Department at New Silver City Secondary School; and Rushell Leacock, a Senior Mistress at Kwakwani Primary School. Eddo Leacock and pensioner Uramie Hall, both from Kwakwani, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice); and Pastor Clinton Patterson, who later succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical treatment at the Linden Hospital Complex, making him the fifth fatality in the tragic incident.
The accident involved two vehicles travelling in opposite directions, with reports indicating that reckless driving by both drivers had led to the collision.