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Police employing strategies to halt road carnage

Jan 13, 2015 News

Three persons have already lost their lives so far in the first 12 days of the year and the police traffic department is hoping that there won’t be a repeat of last year when the carnage on the country’s roads claimed the lives of 146 persons.
Last year, road deaths were 34 more than for the previous year, representing a whopping 30 per cent increase.
Pedestrians were the main road users affected with 60 such persons losing their lives up to the end of December 2014.
In addition, 26 motorcyclists, 20 pedal cyclists, 16 drivers, 23 persons travelling in motor vehicles and one person being towed on a bicycle lost their lives.
August saw the most road deaths with 22, while November, which was designated Road Safety Month, had 17 fatalities.
February, March, April and May were the only months that saw single digit road deaths.
Speeding continues to be a major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 87 of the 135 fatal accidents recorded at the end of December 2014.
Private cars were involved in most of the fatal accidents, accounting for 70, while mini buses were associated with 14.
“The general indiscriminate use of the roads by all categories of road users was a factor that contributed significantly to the spiraling number of fatal accidents last year and the Guyana Police Force is therefore urging that all persons use the roadways in a manner that is cognisant of the five Cs – Care, Consideration, Caution, Common Sense, and Courtesy,” the police said in a statement yesterday.
To stem the carnage, the Traffic Department is embarking on a robust campaign which has already borne some fruit.
According to the police, traffic enforcement last year resulted in a total of 65,475 cases being made against errant motorists of which, 19,075 cases were for speeding.
During this year, the Police Traffic Department will be intensifying its enforcement activities with special focus on speeding and driving under the influence, in addition to other offences such as using motor cycles without safety helmets and using cell phones while driving.
At the same time the Traffic Department plans to enhance its traffic education programme through the Road Safety Talk and other media programmes as well as symposiums and visits to schools and bus/car parks for interactive sessions.
The police said that a number of initiatives that were adopted in 2014 will continue this year, inclusive of the ‘Name and Shame’ campaign in relation to persons driving under the influence of alcohol and the use of the tow truck in situations where motor vehicles are parked in contravention of the laws, as the Force strives to ensure road safety.

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