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Police statistics show…August saw biggest decline in road deaths, fatal accidents
August was seemingly a good month for the Guyana Police Force Traffic Department with recorded declines on almost all fronts.
The GPF recently released its monthly traffic statistics, this time for the period of January 1 to August 31, 2015.
According to the information provided, the GPF recorded declines in fatal accidents, deaths, and child fatalities, when compared to the same period last year. Declines were also noted in serious, minor, and damage accidents.
In fact, August was the month which recorded the biggest decline in both accidents and road deaths for the year thus far.
While for 2015 to date, there have been declines – ranging from minimal to notable – August’s declines were the most obvious.
The police statistics show that in August 2014, there had been 21 fatal accidents. This number dropped to seven in August, 2015, representing a decline of 67 percent. Furthermore, from the 21 fatal accidents recorded last year August, there had been 22 deaths. However, this figure dropped in August 2015 to eight deaths, a decline of 64 percent.
For the other months, declines in fatal accidents ranged from 13 percent up to August’s 67 percent while the declines in road deaths ranged from 13 percent up to 64 percent.
Besides fatal accidents, the other categories of accidents fell. In terms of serious, minor, and damage accidents, the GPF indicated that these areas had decreased by nine percent, three percent and four percent respectively.
In the serious accidents section, the numbers moved from 295 in 2014 for the same period under review to 269 at the end of August 2015.
For minor accidents, the numbers dropped from 353 in August 2014 to 344 in August 2015 while for damage accidents, the numbers moved from 556 to 554.
Overall, the police recorded a decline of fatal accidents and deaths. In 2014, there were 82 recorded fatal accidents at the end of August. This year, the number stands at 66, representing a decline of 20 percent.
Similarly, deaths moved from 89 in 2014 to 80 in 2015, a decrease of 10 percent. The deaths of children remained the same, from 11 last year to 11 this year.
August’s lowered statistics come right after particularly concerning statistics in July. July had recorded the most accidents for the year thus far, with 14 persons dying from 13 accidents.
Meanwhile, speeding and inattentiveness continue to outstrip other causes of fatal accidents for the period under review.
According to the police, speeding accounted for nearly half – 47 percent – of the fatal accidents up until the end of August. Out of the 66 fatal accidents which occurred, 31 were caused by speeding, the police said.
Additionally, inattentiveness accounted for 32 percent of the fatal accidents, that is 21 out of the 66 total.
Other causes of fatal accidents include driving under the influence of alcohol (11 cases), failure to conform to sign (one case) and breach of traffic light signal (one case).
Furthermore, pedestrians remained the group most affected by fatal accidents. At the end of August, 28 pedestrians were killed. The second most affected group was passengers in cars, which saw 17 persons being killed. Other affected groups include motorcyclists, drivers and pedal cyclists which saw 11, 10 and six deaths respectively.
Additionally, 86 vehicles were involved in the 66 fatal accidents which occurred by the end of August, the police said. Of these vehicles, the private cars accounted 38 percent (33 out of 86 vehicles), nearly three times the other categories. After private cars, motorcycles accounted for 16 percent (14 out of 86 vehicles) followed by motor lorries or vans with 14 percent (12 out of 86).
The police said that up to September 10, there had been one road fatality recorded for September 2015.
This fatality occurred on the Canje Public Road, Berbice on September 6 and claimed the life of Behaspattie, 52, of Lot 315 Last Street No. 2 Village.
According to reports, the woman had been crossing the Canje road when a black Mazda coming from New Amsterdam struck her. She was hurled into the air and landed several feet away.
She was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
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