Dear Editor,
There is urgent need for a total reorganisation of the way traffic and its related issues are handled in our country. I am speaking from the standpoint of the use of our roads, traffic offences, to the establishment of a traffic department.
Let me enumerate these issues:
1. There should be the setting up of a traffic department solely for the purpose of the issuing of licences and driving permits. I am talking about the removal of this aspect of licensing from the GPF. Some are of the certain fact that many of the operators of vehicles on our roads got their driver’s licence through fraudulent means, the creole version of that is “they bought their books.” The GPF is seen in a negative light when it comes to the certification of drivers. In the circumstances, they have come in for heavy criticism by users of our roads; that is, by pedestrians and motorised traffic alike. The general consensus is that many persons driving in Guyana are not certified as competent to be on our roads. And in my view, to end all of this, there should be the setting up of a Department of Motor Vehicles to eliminate this malady plaguing our traffic department.
2. Secondly, the penalties for drunk driving and unlicensed drivers, in my humble view, should be the instant revocation of their licences. No one has any right being behind the wheel of a potentially dangerous machine while inebriated, period. End of discussion! This age-old endemic situation has plagued us for too long, and it is high time for us to ‘get rid’ of the offenders. At this point, I call upon our judicial system to impose heavy penalties on those breaking the law, too many lives are being lost to such wanton lawlessness on our roads.
The slogan “If you drink don’t drive, and if you are driving don’t drink” must be adhered to at all times.
3. There should be the constant issuance of tickets for speeding on our roads. While some drivers use our roads with due care and caution, there are those who are in the constant habit of commandeering their vehicles in a reckless manner right before traffic cops. They believe that the roads and highways are race tracks. I am therefore calling on the authorities to rein in this reckless endangerment to the lives of our road-using public. And the time to do so is now!
4. I am on record as calling for the establishment of roundabouts. Right from the very start, I have championed the move to construct these traffic regulators. I am talking about the construction of such fixtures at major junctures on our road network. It is cheap (there is no need for traffic lights), it reduces the incidents of speeding, and it is an excellent regulator of traffic. Roundabouts keep the movement of traffic in a sustained manner.
5. Old and existing traffic signs should be repainted, while there should be the mounting of others, especially on our newer roads.
As we move along this road of progress, our infrastructure should mark the signature imprint of modernisation. At the same time, we must work to reduce the barbarity and carnage on our roads.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
