One thousand, four hundred and forty-eight dead

Mar 17, 2013 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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One thousand, four hundred and forty-eight persons were killed in fatal traffic accidents on Guyana’s roadways under the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration in the decade 2002-2011:

2002    2003    2004    2005    2006    2007    2008    2009    2010    2011
133    161    158    165    164    207    113    117    115    115

Another 115 dead were added to the death toll last year, 2012. This figure – a rough average of about a dozen deaths every month –represents only the number of persons killed. Thousands more have suffered injuries or lost limbs as a result of traffic accidents which are among the top ten leading causes of death and account for the greatest number of disabilities in Guyana. The numbers vary from year to year but the conditions under which our citizens die remain similar. The US Department of State still warns its citizens visiting this country:
“Driving in Guyana can be potentially very hazardous. The rate of traffic accident fatalities in Guyana is higher than in the United States. Cars, large commercial vehicles, horse drawn carts, bicyclists, motorcycles, free range livestock, stray dogs, pedestrians, aggressive “mini-buses” and sleeping animals all share narrow, poorly maintained roads. Aggressive, speeding vehicles on the same roads with slow-moving vehicles makes driving in Guyana especially dangerous. Driving at unsafe speeds, reckless driving, tail-gating, quick stops without signaling, passing at intersections, and passing on crowded streets is commonplace. Driving at night poses additional concerns as many roads are not lit, some drivers do not lower high beam lights, livestock sleep on the road and many pedestrians congregate by the roadside. You should exercise caution at all times while driving and avoid driving outside of Georgetown at night when possible. The Traffic Division of Guyana’s National Police Force is responsible for road safety but is ill-trained and ill-equipped.”
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, a former Minister of Health, once disclosed that of the 6,000-odd deaths Guyana experiences every year, road accidents are the seventh leading cause. He also estimated that the cost of care for accident victims amounts to more than $100M per year at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation alone and complained that an average of 18 road accident victims per week received surgery at the Georgetown and New Amsterdam Public Hospitals.
Fatalities on the roads fit into a fairly clear framework. First, many occur at night or on weekends and on open stretches of country road. High-risk rural areas, however, attract low-level attention from the traffic police. Relatively few in number, despite the high accident death rate, traffic policemen are most visible at urban car parks and bus terminals. They work less at night and do not have enough motorcycles to reach to the out-of-town trouble spots.
Second, it is quite evident that there are many unqualified and incompetent drivers who are not fit to drive taxis and buses. There is, however, no programme for identifying and taking them out of the driving seats. No countrywide computer database has been established to authenticate their drivers’ licences – a measure that requires cooperation between the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Third, as John Daniels, a former Guyana Police Force Traffic Chief admitted while speaking at the start of the “Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020,” a large number of accidents can be blamed on persons driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding.
Fourth, there are insufficient trained personnel to certify the roadworthiness of the growing number of private and commercial vehicles and there is inadequate special equipment to determine cases of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The People’s National Congress Reform continues to call for the establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate road traffic accidents and to make recommendations for saving lives. Such a Commission of Inquiry must insist that:
· Roads, especially newly-repaired or resurfaced ones, are correctly marked and that road signs are erected where they could be seen.
· Pavements, pedestrian crossings and sidewalks are clearly demarcated enabling pedestrians to move safely from street to street.
· Public transport vehicles, particularly minibuses and taxis, are inspected rigorously for mechanical defects.
· Parked trailers carrying logs, sand and other materials are lit and not permitted on public highways.
· Public entertainment, village markets and drying fish and paddy are not permitted within three metres of roadways.
· Shipping containers, derelict vehicles and building materials such as sand, stone and wood are not permitted on roadways.
· Drivers of minibuses, hire cars and taxis are required to qualify for special “commercial driver” licences which emphasise safety, skill and suitability for holding responsibility for the lives of passengers.
Guyana’s road safety problem, as the records prove, has been aggravated by the fact that ‘new’ vehicles are being added to the roads at an increasing rate, estimated at about 1,000 per month. Too many vehicles travel too fast and far too few traffic policemen are deployed on the rural roadways where and when speeding is rampant, both by day and night. Credible complaints of police bribery and ‘shakedowns’ and other forms of corruption are rampant and reduce policemen’s credibility and enforcement capability.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force have a lot more work to do to make our roads safe for our citizens.

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