TOUGH CHOICES IN AN ELECTION YEAR

Jul 20, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Every decision cannot be based purely on economics, for if this were the case, decisions which can save human lives would result in sacrificing such lives for the sake of economics.
There are thousands of motor vehicles in Guyana and only a limited number of police stations at which certificates of fitness are issued. Considering that on average it should take about three minutes for a proper inspection of a motor vehicle, it is something of an achievement that the police are able to certify the thousands of vehicles than run our roads each year.
In light of the numbers, there have been unsubstantiated suggestions that in fact not all vehicles are subject to the normal checks, but that some vehicles may be certified without an examination. However, no one has ever complained about this, so we can only conclude that the police have been working around the clock to ensure that all vehicles are certified as roadworthy and that this roadworthiness involves a check of the tyres used, especially those of public transport vehicles.
On Monday evening there was a tragic accident in which a rear tyre of a minibus blew-out. Despite this, given that the speed limit in the city is 50 kilometres per hour, the bus must have been speeding for it to have toppled at least four times, resulting in the deaths so far of five persons.
These persons did not deserve to die. As usual the blame is going to be placed on the authorities for not ensuring compliance with tyres. It is, however, impossible for the authorities after having certified vehicles to check every vehicle to ensure that the tyres have the required depth of threads for use on the roads. To ask the traffic police to ensure this happens will lead to greater harassment and corruption on our roads.
This, of course, is not the first time that deaths have been caused because of a blow-out of tyres. It is time that serious consideration is given towards the banning of used tyres in Guyana. There will be the usual hue and cry over any such proposal, and in an election year and given the pervasiveness of the practice in Guyana, it is difficult to see the administration or the opposition wanting to attract unpopularity by banning used tyres.
But there comes a time when public safety has to be placed above that of popularity, and Guyanese, who can afford nearly two million dollars to purchase a vehicle, can very well afford to spend the amount that it will take to purchase tyres.
The use of used tyres is a huge risk on our roadways. While the incidence of accidents involving blown- out tyres is miniscule, the value that we should place on human life should allow for the outlawing of used tyres. It does not have to be done immediately since this may disrupt commerce, but the authorities should begin to signal that, for example, within the next two years used tyres will be outlawed.
This will allow for everyone to make the necessary adjustments: the owners of vehicles, the used tyre importers and dealers, as well as those who use these tyres. There will be a big uproar and all manner of arguments, made mostly out of economic necessity, but while the rate of vehicle blow-outs is very low in Guyana, the consequences of such blow-outs are normally very tragic and if the price to save lives is that it will cost Guyanese consumers more, then this is a sacrifice which has to be made.
Pulling vehicles off the roads for inspections is not going to help much. The vast majority of vehicles on our roadways use used tyres, and therefore once vehicles are being pulled aside for re-inspection, it could lead to a situation whereby most of the vehicles are found not to be fit and/or encourage corruption.
The government in conjunction with the Bureau of Standards should establish a standard for tyres when used on the roadway. There is already a national standard used, which used dealers have to comply with, but motorists are not aware of what are the standards they are expected to comply with on the roadways. Once this is established, then it will be easier and less problematic to police.
But the bigger problem remains. That is the problem of certification of vehicles. This function should have long been taken out of the hands of police and handed to certified mechanics countrywide. The government does not need the certification fee, and therefore it would be much better if specialised mechanic shops throughout Guyana are allowed to certify vehicles. They should be required to do a thorough inspection for which they will be paid the inspection fee. This will not totally remove the incidence of unfit vehicles on our roadways, but it will certainly help in reducing the number of vehicles that are not roadworthy.
These are tough decisions to make in an election year, but in the interest of saving lives, these decisions have to be made.

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