Regulate the wanton production of vehicular license plates

Oct 08, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
I feel obliged to state the obvious since it appears that we have resigned ourselves to shaking our heads at the lawlessness, dangerous driving and unnecessary road fatalities and accidents that occur way too often on or modest roadways. Guyana’s roads are in a crisis and not because of engineering flaws but rather lawless driving. It is very obvious that many, seemingly the majority of drivers on our roadways, bought their books (licenses) as we refer to it locally.
With this crisis evident among both private and publicly registered vehicle drivers, it should be a no brainer that a long-term policy to improve the regulation of basic driver education, courtesies, considerations and safe driving habits must be on the immediate agenda. We lose way too many family members, friends, other loved ones, time and money, to name a few, not to address this issue as a matter or priority.
Such a policy must translate into a multifaceted programming that allocates significant resources to meeting drivers where they are, to find out what produces such high risk driving behaviors. The easiest thing and perhaps most incorrect is for us to assume that a lack of moral deficiency produces high risk driving. The actual causes may well surprise us and inform subsequent interventions.
Finally on Friday October 2, 2015 a number of media houses reported an accident at, of all places, Police Headquarters Eve Leary Police, in which a car bearing a false license plate crashed into a trench. In the said car were two men, one unlicensed firearm and a quantity of stolen cell phones – which I hope will be returned or dealt with transparently and in the public interest. It was reported that the car’s number plate, according to registration documents was actually PLL 5217.
However the number plate used by the vehicle on the said day was PHH 6532. Now, any driver can share his or her number plate with another driver at their own risk of course. Irrespective of this or the assumption that the false number plate was made by a vendor that makes number plates is a moot point. The real issue is why are vehicular number plates being made by private citizens and not the License Revenue Office or another fitting agency? Even if the practice of license plates made by private citizens continue, major reform and regulatory oversight is urgently required.
My final recommendation supports a driver education program as the relevant agencies establish a policy to address the lawlessness on our roads. More specifically, I support and issue a call for this program to focus on two areas: (1) safe road use habits in Guyana – i.e. specific safe road use habits, (2) safe driver habits – not driving, driver and (3) road use signs, symbols and common driving mistakes.
Name provided

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Regulate the wanton production of vehicular license plates

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