More amusement in 21st century Guyana

Jan 24, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
In recent years the police have been releasing their annual statistics in a manner which does not allow for a proper evaluation of their overall performance. For last year we are told that there was a decline in murder but we are unable to determine how many remain unsolved.
I am always interested in the crime figures, but these days I am most concerned with the figures in relation to traffic accidents, which seem to be ever increasing.
In fact, I do not think that it is without significance that a few days ago (17-01-2012) both the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News carried front page stories on different traffic accidents.
A few days later, another accident occurred at the intersection of Hadfield and Smyth Streets. The common thing about the intersections at which those accidents occurred is that there was no traffic sign or road markings to assist drivers and pedestrians alike.
In the face of such a grave deficiency, I am reminded of the most valuable proposition which was made by Mr. E.B. John not so long ago.
He advocated that the private sector should in a meaningful way, contribute to the restoration of traffic signs on our highways and in the cities.
The usefulness of traffic signs cannot be overemphasized, except to say that they help to underscore the maintenance of the five C’s.  There can be no doubt that we – as a nation – in some respects, seem to have lost the appreciation, and indeed, the admiration for the high standards for which we were once reputed in the Caribbean region.
The restoration of the traffic signs is one thing, but doing so with wisdom and correctness, is another.
If there is any doubt about the importance of traffic signs, one needs only to consult Section 5 (a) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02 which reads as follows:
“The Commissioner of Police may cause or permit to be placed on or near any road ,a prescribed traffic sign for- (a) Providing adequate guidance to users of the road as to the directions, restrictions or prohibitions contained in any law for the regulation of traffic;”
I do not think that this rather simple section of the law requires any explanation or amplification, except to say that traffic signs are intended to serve as a guide to good, proper, lawful and I dare say reasonable behaviour by all road users.
Notwithstanding the huge benefit which road users derive from traffic signs, someone seem to have adopted a less than serious attitude about their existence and maintenance.
How else can anyone explain the absence of many of the signs, the ‘directional arrows’ and the all important ‘Stop’ line from many intersections?
Ask any driver who tries to navigate his/her way through Queenstown, Alberttown, etc on an infrequent basis, and s/he would tell you of a nightmarish experience. The stop lines at most intersections in these areas are virtually absent or barely visible.
One has to depend on local knowledge, which in itself can result in an accident, simply by stopping when required to do so. Why are the signs absent or barely visible on the road surface? The simple answer is that the wrong type of paint may have been used to insert them.
I have every reason to believe that the traffic signs on road surfaces are marked using ordinary paint instead of a specialized paint. In 1975 when the vehicular population was one hundredth of what it is today, I was told that the yellow lines at the centre of the roads could not have been repainted frequently enough because one pint of the specialized paint cost eighty dollars and that was almost prohibitive.
Regardless of its cost today, it would be better to use the right type of paint so that the signs and lines can remain visible for several years, instead of having to repaint them every six months or not at all.
Further, I am not sure that apart from the ‘Stop’ Line, the No Overtaking Lines, the Pedestrian Crossings, the Directional Arrows and a few others, any traffic sign such as a Bus Stop could be properly written on the road surface.
As a matter of fact, the Guyana Road Traffic Code, better known as the Highway Code, contains a total of 40 traffic signs, but none of them says “Bus Stop”. This to my mind creates a legal problem, because while the Commissioner of Police is legally permitted to cause any of the 40 signs to be placed “on or near any road…” I am not sure that he can do so in relation to a Bus Stop.
Indeed, in the past there were elevated bus stops in Georgetown and along our highways and even if they were illegally erected, they served a far more useful purpose than those written on the road surface these days.  The current Bus Stops in Georgetown usually serve to give the bus drivers an added advantage, because while no other vehicle is permitted to stop on a Bus Stop, buses can be seen stopping on and off Bus Stops.
That apart, I don’t think that it would be unreasonable to suggest that all traffic signs should be elevated and be visible from a reasonable distance. After all, drivers do not drive looking down, they look ahead. I found it quite amusing that in 21st century Guyana, the speed limit in a particular area is written on the road surface.
In closing, I wish to reiterate the appeal by Mr. E.B. John for the involvement of the private sector in the restoration of traffic signs. However, I would humbly submit that in so doing, they should ensure that the signs are in conformity with those listed in the ‘Highway Code’ and that the right quality of paints is used.
By the way, we have had some of the 2011 crime statistics, but should we not be having the traffic statistics?
Francis Carryl

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