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AFC calls for immediate revamp of licencing system

Jul 21, 2011 News

In light of the increasing frequency of road fatalities and accidents, the Alliance For Change (AFC) is calling for the immediate revamp of the licencing system in order to weed out those unsuitable for driving.
Executive Member Gerhard Ramsaroop indicated that the political party is cognizant that there are some people who require a driver’s licence for employment purposes, and as such, it recommends that oral tests should be given for those who are illiterate or semi-literate. This would negate the purchasing of licences because of the corrupt system.
Another recommendation by the party is the establishment of centres countrywide, for driving classes and the test to be taken.
Ramsaroop emphasized that since 2002, AFC’s Prime Ministerial candidate Sheila Holder brought a motion to the National Assembly for a policy to be drafted and appropriate regulation instituted in consultation with operators in the sector, consumers and other stakeholders, to introduce best practices and systems for the safe, efficient and fair operation of the public transportation sector.
This motion was proposed because of the view that the sector was falling short of minimum standards of safety, courtesy, and recognition of the rights of consumers using the service.
This scenario is reflective in the deaths of children on the roadways. Ramsaroop noted that recently the public saw the maiming of eight-year-old Vijai Ramnauth and the senseless killing of his nine-year-old sister, Jaswattie, by an errant driver.
He stressed that only two years before, this very driver knocked down a ten-year-old child, Sateshwar Ragunanadan, leaving him still heavily impaired today.
It was noted that within three days of the accident of the Ramnauth children, four-year-old Aquilah Samuels was tragically crushed and killed on the spot, while her cousin, 13-year-old Shaka Anthony, died two hours later. Recently, five persons lost their lives including eight-year-old Crazel Paul.
The AFC suggests that when an accident results in a fatality, the driver must within 24 hours retake the driver’s test. If the person fails, an investigation must be immediately launched as to how the driver’s licence was obtained.
Once found fraudulent, the state must assume culpability, even if the driver was not in the wrong.
Ramsaroop emphasized that the driver ought not to have been on the road in the first place.
He added that once the state is found guilty, it opens the door to private litigation as well, and given the normally low sums paid by insurance companies or in private settlements, this is the only way poor families in Guyana can receive some form of justice and reprieve.

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