Do not blame the Government

Jul 08, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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A few nights ago, I saw a mini bus do the unthinkable. There were two buses on a dark road, one in front of the other, both with passengers inside.

Suddenly, the bus at the back veered to the corner of the road, coming inches away from where I was standing, and blasting its engines, accelerated to overtake the other bus. Inches more and the Peeper would have been threshed.

I could not see the license plate of the overtaking bus. Had I been able to do so, I would have filed a report to the nearest police station, because I consider that sort of use of the roadways as dangerous driving.

As I said, there were passengers in that bus, and as it blasted its way along the roadway, I looked to see whether it would have stopped to put off any passenger. It did not, but merely disappeared into the night.

I blame the bus driver for driving dangerously. But I also blame the passengers for endangering their own lives by allowing themselves to remain in that bus which was driving so dangerously.

Each day in this country, persons are jeopardizing their lives by not speaking out when they are in these vehicles which are doing stunts on the roadway. Each day, passengers are endangering their lives when they notice these things and they do not stop the vehicle and disembark.

There is no way that I am going to sit in any bus and remain quietly while that bus breaches the laws of the road, and especially if that breach involves driving at a fast rate of speed.

I have no doubt that speeding and reckless driving must have been factors in the deaths of those five young men who were killed on Sunday night.

I do not know who exactly is at fault, but, from experience, what I do know is that, if both vehicles had been travelling at a reasonable speed, there would have been extensive damage to both vehicles but the fatalities would have been zero.

So long as you drive at a slow rate of speed, even if a mistake is made by someone else driving also at a slow rate of speed, then there is no way that the impact can result in death.

I accept that the speed limits in Guyana are ridiculously low. I myself find it hard to maintain these speeds, because it is hard to keep your feet even lightly on the accelerator and still keep within the speed limits.

Most drivers cannot keep within these limits, and therefore are simply prepared to take the risk in driving not just a little, but way above those limits.

That is why this column has repeatedly called for realistic speed limits, because if this were in place then there will be greater compliance.

At present, all we are doing is making corrupt traffic police richer, because they know that it is hard to maintain a steady speed and still be within the speed limits, and therefore they know that most vehicles on our roadways are travelling above these limits. And these corrupt cops are capitalizing on the situation.

On the East Bank of Demerara, where Sunday night’s horrific accident took place, there is no shortage of traffic ranks on the public road… during the daytime.

They can be seen hauling in vehicles and having long discussions with the errant drivers. I never knew it took so long to issue a speeding ticket. However, as soon as dusk sets in, these ranks are not on the roadways.

Yet, I am sure that, if you examine the statistics on fatal road accidents, you will find that the vast majority takes place after sunset.

This is therefore the period when you would expect there to be a heavier presence of traffic cops on our roadways. Instead, the very opposite takes place.

In the past I have urged two things. The first is for a study to be done involving the insurance companies and the traffic department, which would study the risk factors on the various public roadways in Guyana.

From a study of the statistics, there could be a more informed strategic response to the problem of road carnage and response that would be beneficial to both the public and to the insurance companies.

Secondly, I had urged that the insurance limits be adjusted to keep abreast of prevailing realities. Part of the reason why there is so much recklessness on our roadways is because any and everybody these days, once they have a license, can drive on our roadways with insurance coverage that offers very little.

If there were statutory limits that reflected prevailing circumstances, the cost of insurance would be much higher, and many persons would thus come to appreciate just how responsible they need to be, because they will be paying higher premiums for driving irresponsibly.

Thirdly, I had called for the police, when they find someone breaching the law, to issue traffic violation tickets instead of having to haul motorists down to the station or having to impound their vehicles.

If traffic tickets were issued on the spot, it would reduce a great deal of harassment and corruption within the traffic department.

It will, however, not prevent drivers from doing their own thing on the roads, thus endangering the lives of passengers. The Government cannot continue to be blamed for what is taking place on our roadways.

It is the public themselves who must be blamed, because they continue to see drivers “hustling” with their lives and they sit silently in their seats, saying nothing.

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