At what stage is this country?

Aug 19, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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It would be fascinating theatre to look inside the minds of those who have power in this country. Why they do the things when they do them is a journey onto another planet.

If someone were to come from a small, isolated village in France and hear that two weeks ago the Government introduced breathalyzer testing, that French villager would want to know where that country is.

Breathalyzer examination came into being shortly after it was invented by Dr. Frank Borkenstein, of Indiana, USA, in 1957. Let us date the legislation to 1960.

This would mean that, two years less half a century after its introduction, breathalyzer testing has come to Guyana.

Hard as it is to accept, the denigration of the Third World by V.S. Naipaul, his theory that Caribbean society is inherently uncreative, makes you stop and think.

I could understand the Burnham regime would have downplayed the significance of outlawing drunk drivers. In Burnham’s days we didn’t have extensive vehicular traffic and fatalities were low.

It was Hoyte who opened up the economy and allowed the importation of vehicles of all types that defy imagination to inundate the land like the Great Flood of 2005.

Around 1990, Hoyte should have legislated against people who imbibe and use the wheel. From around 1995, vehicular violence took over the streets and highways. By 2000, it was clear that zero tolerance had to come from our legislators.

Halfway through 2008, we have had breathalyzer legislation. This was about ten years after it became an exigency.

Only those with political power can tell you why the Bill had not come before. The sad thing about it is that, since 2000, the relatives of countless victims have been unable to get compensation from those who, under intoxication, killed loved ones on the roads.

We may not know the reason for the excessively long delay, but the obvious reason why we have it in August 2008 is because people are dying like flies on the highways and streets, because of uncivilized drivers who come from all classes of citizens. Further, the punishment laws are atrociously anachronistic.

I have read about the crucifixion of the minibus drivers. It is hard to disagree with the rising anti-minibus sentiments.

These people are obnoxiously irresponsible. They provide a valuable service to the poorer sections of the population.

That needs no debating. But no other country in the world would tolerate the bestial carelessness of our minibus drivers.

It appears that once a Guyanese citizen touches the wheel of a minibus, he becomes transformed into an animal. But why single out the minibus group alone?

There are the rich youths and the taxi drivers who have to be confronted by the Parliament and the Guyana Police Force. Relevant legislation is lamentably absent in dealing with these two other categories.

Once a taxi driver, operating out of a company, has been found guilty of dangerous driving or causing death on the road, the legislation should include immediate compensation from the company, to be determined by a judge or an accident board.

What this form of punishment will do is deter taxi companies from employing irresponsible and aggressive drivers.

In relation to the rich kids, this is more of a political problem. The parents of these uncouth people penetrate the corridors of power. They have high contacts with police officers. Sadly, they also have friends in the judiciary.

Imagine, a UG student died at the hands of a driver, who admitted responsibility. Compensation that was considered insulting was paid to the student’s family. I know his cousin and I asked her how her uncle could put a million-dollar price on his son’s life.

There were no charges. Now here comes the horrible part. This offending driver has not been suspended, even though the death constituted his second major breach of the traffic laws.

Do you know how many traffic death cases are yet to come up in the courts? We are talking about more than eight years for some of them.

There is one such charge that is before the courts involving the son of one of Guyana’s richest families. The fatality occurred on Camp Street, and he was charged with death by dangerous driving.

This man legally migrated in 2005. Why was his name not on the list of persons not allowed to emigrate? He wasn’t on a holiday. His immigration papers would have shown that he was taking up permanent residence in Canada.

Finally, the British Government had to come to our rescue with a donation of 24 anti-speed radar sets. So the traffic cops are all over the highways with these small machines. If there was no donation, would our government have bought them?

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