An inadequate road transport system

Jun 27, 2014 Editorial

Facilitating maximum safety in the movement of people and goods on Guyana’s roads is a fundamental transport system requirement. It is vitally important for the government and people of Guyana to reduce the unacceptable number of transport-related deaths and serious injuries.
Apart from the direct consequences, the high incidence of accidents and road deaths in our society brings immeasurable trauma for those involved, their families and friends, with serious costs to the community, business and the economy.
Surely, this cannot continue. Now, more than at any time in the past, there is a glaring need for an immediate and comprehensive review of the nation’s road transport system. This review should be the catalyst of radical changes in the current transport policy towards one based on reduction of traffic congestion, elimination of speeding, continued and dramatic improvements in traffic signals and road quality. In particular, it should aim to improve safety of the public transport system and provide better conditions for the most vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists.
To be honest, government’s transport sector strategists have, to date, failed to come to terms with the increasing congestion on our roads. In particular, the public transport system which relies heavily on private mini-bus owners in dog-eat-dog competition with each other – remains palpably inadequate. To make matters worse, the hazardous road environment is a contributing factor to the high percentage of crashes, especially on major highways where speeding is rampant.
From a road safety point of view there seems to be three priority areas.
First of all, to significantly improve road safety, stakeholders have absolutely no choice but to find and apply better means of detecting and deterring speeding motorists. Secondly, stakeholders should develop a road safety policy that specifically deals with protecting vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, the elderly and the young.
Thirdly, a large proportion of our road safety problems seems to exist on traffic arteries in major towns and on rural highways. Therefore, those who plan and maintain roads should place special emphasis on ensuring that such roads are built and kept in keeping with the highest safety standards.
It seems to be especially important for road safety, by design, to become an integral part of road infrastructure planning. It should also be a key element in land use development, to ensure long term safety benefits for future road users. Obviously, improving the quality of roads would reduce the risk of collisions and broader roadsides would help as well. Further, we must continue to install or improve road signs, signals, traffic lights and street lighting, at all costs. On this point, it is extremely disturbing that several accident-prone intersections and areas in the city remain devoid of vital traffic lights.
On a more encouraging note, at mid-month, we learnt that expressions of interest are currently being exercised by the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation for an Urban Transport Study to be undertaken by a contracted entity to see how best the issue of traffic congestion can be mitigated.
According to a Public Works Ministry official, “The study looks at parking, the use of streets, the best areas for certain buses to park, where cars should be, a variety of things, so the study should cover all of that and everything else.”
And just recently, the Traffic Chief indicated that his department and the aforementioned Ministry are collaborating to get the traffic lights within the city coordinated so as to further reduce traffic congestion. It was pointed out that the procedure was already being implemented, but that there are lights that are using power from the Guyana Power and Light grid, and whenever there is a power outage it affects the coordination of the lights. A familiar case of one step forward and two steps back.
Whatever the case, the existing situation needs to be addressed with rapidity.

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An inadequate road transport system

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