Speeding continues to cause most road deaths

Mar 19, 2014 News

Phagwah Day’s crash on the East Bank Demerara Access Road, which resulted in the death of Wazir Mohamed Hussein also known as Wazir Khan, has pushed the country’s road fatality to 25 so far for the year, one more than the corresponding period in 2013.
The deaths this year resulted from 23 accidents and so far speeding has accounted for 13 of them, while two have resulted from driving under the influence of alcohol, and three from inattentiveness.

This accident on Phagwah Day claimed another life.

Pedestrians topped the list with nine so far, followed by motorcyclists and passengers in motor vehicle with six apiece.
Private cars and motorcycles have accounted for the most road deaths up to now, with 10 and six respectively being involved. Minibuses accounted for three deaths so far.
Not surprisingly, the afternoon hours, from 12 noon to midnight, is the period when most of the accidents occurred.
Young drivers were found to be the most involved in fatal accidents. According to figures up to March 12, ten drivers between the ages of 25 to 33 years old were involved, while eight drivers between 34 to 42 years old were involved in road deaths.
The figures show that elderly drivers are the safest when it comes to causing road deaths as only one of them between the ages of 52 and 60 years old was involved in a road fatality.
So far the police traffic department has recorded over 4177 cases of speeding; 259 cases of using a cellular phone while driving; 1692 for overloaded minibuses; 262 unlicenced drivers; 724 for failing to wear seat belts; 296 cases of tinted motor vehicles; and 182 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The figure for drunk driving is expected to be increased significantly in the coming months, following a donation of 15 Breathalysers along with 2,000 mouthpieces to the Guyana Police Force by the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO).
Managing Director of NAMILCO, Roopnarine Sukhai, in making the presentation, had noted that he was motivated to assist the Force with the equipment after he was involved in a vehicular accident and there was no breathalyser available at the station during the investigation. He expressed the willingness of his company to assist with having the equipment recalibrated annually, through the suppliers.