Berbice short of traffic cops

Nov 05, 2010 News

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By Melissa Johnson

NEW AMSTERDAM, BERBICE – Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force is short of 40 traffic ranks and this tells a tale. But Commander of Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force, Assistant Commissioner Steve Merai gave the assurance that despite the situation his team works diligently to ensure that the traffic enforcement campaign breeds success.
After last Friday’s tragedy on the Number Nineteen Highway which claimed 12 lives, the focus would be expanded to include trucks as well and they would be pulled in like other categories of vehicles. “We have a few killer trucks out there…There are speeding.”
Yesterday, Thursday, Mr. Merai summoned a press briefing to deal with the said fatal accident. He called it the most gruesome accident and the worst in the entire country. He extended condolence on behalf of the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and the administration of the Guyana Police Force.
Commander Merai said he knows that the relatives of the victims are in need of justice.
On Tuesday, truck driver, 38-year-old Chetram Moonsammy of Joanna, Black Bush Polder was remanded to prison until January 2011 after he was refused bail.
The man, who allegedly drove GLL 8863, appeared before Magistrate Adele Nagamootoo at the New Amsterdam Magistrates’ Court. He was slapped with 12 counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of failing to render assistance in the carnage which occurred on the Number Nineteen Highway last Friday.
Dead are 12 of the 17 occupants of the bus including its driver Oudit Narine Babolall. The other victims were Marques Ault, Cindy Jaggernauth, Patricia Asgarally, Janet Baker, Orlando DeMattos, Salima Dilmohammed, Salmaa Razaac, Chetram Ramphal, Nasradin Mohinudin and Talita Mendonca and her two month old child Josiah Khan.
This accident has since pushed road fatality figures in Berbice to 28 to date. In 2009 the corresponding period recorded 20 deaths. The Number Nineteen Highway had no fatal accidents in over one year.
The driver of the minibus did not have an unblemished record, according to Mr Merai. Last year he was charged for speeding and placed in the lock-ups. Commander Merai said he is not suggesting the minibus driver was speeding at the time of this particular accident. It is for the court to decide. He said there was visibility for at least half mile down the road, it was raining and the place was cloudy at the time.
He called on them not to encourage such a trend, speak out. Mr. Merai appealed to drivers to follow the laws of the road.
Mr. Merai said he visited the scene of the accident moments later where he met two young traffic ranks. They informed him that 20 minutes before the fatality, they had stopped the very bus a few miles away at Albion. One of them also counted 14 passengers at that point in journey.
Subsequently, a survivor related that more commuters joined along the way. His initial investigation also satisfied him that there were adequate steps taken to ensure no breach in traffic laws.
A mobile patrol plying the New Amsterdam/Rose Hall town route had passed the accident scene only ten minutes before the smash up.
According to him, Berbice recorded some 400 cases of drunk driving so far this year, followed by Georgetown in Division ‘A’ with approximately 160.
For other related cases some 5,000 charges were made in Division ‘B’ again ahead of Division ‘A’ and other parts of the country.
Since the shortage of traffic ranks cannot be dealt with overnight, those on duty now work for 12 hours instead of three. It is the policy of the Division for each police rank to function as a traffic rank.
Division ‘B’ has one the most rigid traffic enforcement campaigns in the Guyana Police Force, he said.
On the evening of the tragedy, the Commissioner of Police grilled the Commander and he had to answer questions about the traffic enforcement campaign in Division ‘B’. He then revisited all strategies to stamp out lawlessness on the roadway.
One of the things he found was that up until last Friday his Division was boasting a 50 percent decrease in road fatalities when placed alongside the figures of 2009. He and his team went back to the drawing board in search of ways of to ensure safer roads.
“One accident took up figures up…12 persons died.”
The night after the accident, Saturday, traffic ranks staged a campaign. They pulled in eight drivers who were travelling above the speed limit and tested them as well. Two of them drove trucks. One of the truck drivers had collided with two cars and had attempted to escape the scene. He was said to be under the influence of alcohol. He has been placed before the court.
Mr Merai said that there is a culture in Berbice where some persons do not consume alcoholic beverages by ‘shots’ but many imbibe copious amounts. There are also commuters who remain silent as drivers breach the speed limit and even commit other offences.
The Commander expressed gratitude to good
Samaritans who readily assisted in moving the accident victims. He singled out the staff of the New Amsterdam Hospital.
On the night of the fatality and the following morning a television channel in New Amsterdam aired the unedited footage of the scene of the accident without any consideration for the relatives and friends of the victims.
A notice scrolled constantly as the video was aired informing viewers that the footage was graphic.
Commander Merai lashed out at that channel saying it was an unprofessional act. He further added that if he had his way he would have seized the equipment of the television station.
Against that backdrop he implored media operatives to be more sensitive when dealing with some situations.
Officer-In-Charge of Traffic, Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Adonis related what their investigation of the accident revealed. He said that there are different types of drivers – some are selfish, some reckless and some considerate but they all must cater for each road user. The theme for November, Road Safety Month, is ‘Fast Driving takes Lives: Careful Driving saves Lives.’ The Division planned a number of activities in observance including lectures to schools and rallies.

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