DUI legislation takes effect

May 23, 2009 News

…drivers will lose licences

President Bharrat Jagdeo assenting to the Evidence, Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Amendment Bill, yesterday.

While it seems to be culturally acceptable to ‘take a drink and then drive’, President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday assented to the Evidence, Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Amendment Bill, which will result in rigid action being taken against persons who drink and drive.
Yesterday, at a public ceremony, the Head of State assented to the legislation at the Office of the President.
Addressing the gathering following his signature that signaled his assent, President Jagdeo said that he hopes that the police would take a strong view on the matter and while being professional, will at the same time, enforce the law in a ‘very rigid fashion.’
“We hope that there is a public understanding that this is not a punitive measure…this is to force people to act responsibly.”
The Head of State said that between 2004 and last year, there were 731 vehicular accidents resulting in 835 deaths. Of that number, 329 of those were determined to have been committed by persons driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol.
He added that this figure represents more deaths in five years than all the murders that occurred in the comparable period.
“This is one of the biggest causes of death in Guyana… and one of the largest contributors to those fatalities is alcohol.”
The Head of State added that in the consultation leading up to the passage of the Bill, it was said that Guyana is different from the rest of the world and it was culturally satisfactory to ‘take a drink and drive’ since it is part of the country’s ‘DNA’.
“In this case we have to follow international practice…the course we were advised to take would lead to more fatalities on the road….We were told to turn a blind eye.”
He said that they were also told that this move would give more power to the police and that more ranks would become corrupt.
The President urged that people who would have driven under the influence in the past would find a way to remedy this practice.
He suggested that an alternative is to have an assigned driver or take a taxi once they want to consume alcohol.
Alcohol, he added, contributes to a whole range of other problems that the society is battling to deal with.
One of these is domestic violence, the Head of State said, explaining that a new programme has started with the religious communities to sensitise people and reduced the quantity of alcohol consumes in society.
“I hope also that since we have amended the legislation, we would have to have tougher penalties for people who have animals on the road. That too, we would have sticker enforcement of that piece of legislation.”
He noted that persons cannot make excuses and say they are not aware of this new traffic law because there was sufficient public awareness on the new legislation.
The Bill was passed last year July but was not assented to by President Jagdeo, who had voiced his displeasure with the public relations work of the Guyana Police Force. Under this new legislation, the use of a Breathalyzer or blood test will determine the alcohol levels in a person suspected to be under the influence of alcohol.
With the new legislation persons who are caught drinking and driving the first time will be subjected to a fine of $7,500. Second offenders will lose their licence for 12 months. On a third offence the licence would be permanently revoked.
When the legislation went up for debate in the National Assembly last July, both sides of the House unanimously agreed to its provisions with some even calling for the alcohol limit to be less than the equivalent of two beers.