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Death on Berbice roadways on the rise

Oct 19, 2009 News

NEW AMSTERDAM , BERBICE – More deaths occurred on the Berbice roadways this year than last year.

Officer-In-Charge of Traffic in Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force Assistant Superintendent, Calvin Brutus, disclosed that in 2008 between January 1 and September 30, there were 18 fatal accidents with a matching number of deaths.

For the corresponding period this year, the figure stands at 20 accidents with 21 deaths. This number would go up to 21 with 22 lives lost on the roadway when the one fatal accident, in October, is placed in the overall statistics for 2009.

The last fatality was on October 3 at 16:30 hours at Number Seventy-three Village Public. It involved a Tapir H 9958 driven by Ganesh Nuttoo of Lot 171 Church Street, Number Seventy-eight Village and a pedal cyclist, Onkar Kallicharran, of Number 28 Section ‘B’ Number Seventy-three Village.

Kallicharran died the day after at the Skeldon Hospital . He had received treatment, went home and returned the following morning but succumbed in the process of getting medical attention.

Mr. Brutus expressed concern at the attitude of the many drivers who fail to adhere to the traffic laws. The main bugbears are speeding, followed by the inclination of imbibing alcoholic beverages and taking the wheel.

Driving under the influence was cited as the main reason for the increase of deaths on the roadways. The Corentyne area, between Albion and Crabwood Creek is said to be the district with the highest number of accidents in which drivers were said to be under the influence.

More patrols have been deployed to this locality in an attempt to curb this tendency and full use is being made of the breathalyzer test. It is mandatory that all categories of drivers, even those of animal drawn vehicles and cycles, once involved in an accident must undergo the breathalyzer test on the scene unless hospitalised.

If the situation calls for admittance to hospital then doctors at the three facilities identified for Division ‘B’ – New Amsterdam, Skeldon and Fort Wellington Hospitals , must draw blood and have the samples tested for alcohol as directed by the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. The findings of that sample, if above the prescribed limit, would lead to prosecution, if below then the reference would be kept on file.

In the case of the Onkar Kallicharran accident, he could not be tested since the Guyana Police Force only received the report after his death that he was imbibing alcohol moments before the mishap. Onkar Kallicharran, after a drinking spree, went home, collected his bicycle and began riding in the direction of New Amsterdam to visit his brother at Number Seventy-two Village when he was stuck down.

Police reports indicate that the driver of the Tapir, Ganesh Nuttoo, alleged that Onkar Kallicharran was riding in a zig-zag manner and crashed into the Tapir.

But police investigations indicate that the pedal cyclist was stuck from behind. The file has since been dispatched to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for advice on how to proceed with the matter.   Assistant Superintendent Brutus noted that beat duty, motor cycle patrols at day and vehicular patrols at night have heightened in all three sub-divisions.

These sub-divisions are Borlam to the East Bank of Berbice including East and West Canje and New Amsterdam, Borlam to Orealla/Siparuta including Black Bush Polder and West Bank and Coast of Berbice.

In observance of Road Safety Month, a list of events has been planned. On November 1 there would be a Service at the Wesleyan Church at 07:00 hours.

The dates for some of the activities have not yet been identified; however, two seminars for civilian and military drivers will be held.

Lectures would be given to school children, while emphasis would be placed on the enforcement of traffic laws and increased patrols.

The Traffic Department started sprucing up road signs two Mondays ago and should be completed by this weekend.

Road safety talks are to be held on the three television channels in New Amsterdam . An Inter-School Road Safety Competition is scheduled and would be done in collaboration with the Department of Education.

The finale would be a massive rally and exposition set for the end of the month. A venue is yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, with the harvesting of rice in progress, Mr. Brutus is appealing to farmers to exercise more consideration when placing paddy on the roadways to be dried. This he said encourages more animals to roam the streets and could lead to disasters on the roadways.

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