Secure Eye & redefining the culture of road use in Guyana

The launch of the Secure Eye mobile application by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is a commendable advancement in the country’s efforts to modernize its approach to public safety and road traffic management. This real-time reporting tool, unveiled during the 2025 National Road Safety Stakeholders Forum, is an opportune intervention aimed at improving the responsiveness of law enforcement to road accidents and other public safety incidents. But while the app is a step in the right direction, the deeper and more difficult task remains, transforming the entrenched culture of road use in Guyana.
Technology, no matter how advanced, is only as effective as the attitudes and behaviors of the people who use it. The Secure Eye app empowers citizens to report accidents and violations directly to the GPF’s Operations Room, allowing for immediate dispatch of law enforcement. It also offers the functionality to report other crimes and public safety concerns, moving beyond traffic incidents to address the wider security landscape. However, its success hinges on collective discipline, civic responsibility, and a national culture that values life over spectacle.
The problem on Guyana’s roads has never been solely about infrastructure or enforcement. At the core lies a pervasive disregard for traffic laws and an alarming trivialization of reckless behavior. Far too often, serious incidents are treated as content for entertainment or virality, with videos of crashes and carnage circulated on social media for likes, shares, and comments. This spectacle-driven response desensitizes the public to the gravity of road tragedies and also delays meaningful intervention in moments when every second matters.
As emphasized during the app’s unveiling, the objective is to record and to act. The current trend of filming accidents without alerting the police speaks to a misplaced sense of involvement. Bystanders feel they have contributed by broadcasting an event, but often fail to take the critical step of notifying emergency services. The Secure Eye app is designed to close this gap, transforming smartphones from passive tools of voyeurism into instruments of life-saving action.
Nonetheless, even with improved reporting systems, road safety will not be achieved without a shift in mindset. This means rejecting the normalization of traffic violations, speeding, and drunk driving. It requires the elevation of responsible driving to a national ethic, where obeying the law is not seen as a burden, but as a civic obligation. This change must be reflected not only in law enforcement strategies, but in how families, schools, workplaces, and communities talk about and model road use.
The introduction of a digital platform should be complemented by strengthened road safety education and consistent public awareness campaigns. These efforts must go beyond seasonal enforcement blitzes and one-off forums. They must aim to instill a lifelong understanding of the risks associated with reckless driving and the personal and national cost of preventable fatalities.
Additionally, traffic enforcement must evolve alongside these innovations. The GPF must ensure that reports submitted through the app are followed up with visible and consistent action. If road users begin to feel that their submissions lead to meaningful results, be it arrests, citations, or improved emergency response, trust in the system will grow. Conversely, if the app is reduced to a digital suggestion box, the culture of indifference and social media sensationalism will persist.
Importantly, misuse of the platform must be swiftly and transparently addressed. Bogus reports, abuse of the system, or malicious submissions risk undermining the credibility of the initiative and wasting critical resources. Citizens must treat this tool with the seriousness it demands, recognizing that public safety is a shared responsibility.
The loss of life on Guyana’s roads, many of them preventable, has reached distressing levels. While the data speaks volumes, the impact is most profoundly felt in the emptiness in families and the communities left reeling from senseless tragedy. No app, however innovative, can substitute for human accountability, compassion, and caution.
The launch of the Secure Eye app should serve as a technological leap as it presents an opportunity to reimagine what it means to be a responsible road user, to replace complacency with vigilance, and to move from spectacle to substance in the pursuit of safer roads.