West Demerara Road Safety Council hosts successful awareness fair

Nov 29, 2015 News

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As Guyana wraps up its observance of Road Safety Month under the theme, “Be Wise, stay alive. Stop speeding, don’t drink and drive”, the West Demerara road safety council in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) hosted a road safety fair  yesterday, at the Vreed-en-Hoop bus park.

The fair was aimed at sensitizing the public on road safety practices. Present at the event were Retired Senior Police Superintendent, Owen Trotz, who is also the chairman of the West Demerara Road Safety Association; Kester Hinds, a special project engineer of traffic and maintenance attached to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure; police officers,  staff members of the Hand in Hand Insurance company, civilians and other officials.
Several brochures, fact sheets and testimonials were given out as part of yesterday’s initiative.
Hinds, coordinator of the event, said that the fair enables the officials to share information to all road users. He said that everyone has an important role to play in promoting road safety, while pointing out that the effort should be a collaborative one.
Chester said that often times people shift their focus on fatal accidents, overlooking the other categories.
“There are many accidents we often do not pay attention to. They might be many persons, who are maimed for life, suffer debilitating injuries or lose their limbs. Often times these are not highlighted. When persons die we pay attention to it.”
According to the coordinator, statistics show that there were 11 road fatalities and about forty serious, minor and damage accidents for the West Demerara District.

Chester continued, “those accidents might sound like numbers to many persons.”  He stressed that once a life is lost, it affects the country economically.
The engineer explained that in engineering, and in order to respond to road safety with road safety intervention and initiative a cost needs to be place on lives and accidents. He said that doing so, justifies road safety interventions.
For example, he said that a person may question the reason for building a side walk when it costs $20M.
“If a person dies on the road, with the figures we had calculated a few years ago, we are estimating that a fatal accident is valued at $20M.”
He went on to say that someone might say, “Wow my life is cheap”. However, he pointed out that this is not the case. Chester also pointed to the importance of understanding why a certain measure was put in place and not just look at it as money being spent.
He therefore affirmed that the implementations should be viewed as a way of preserving lives and the input our human resources can generate for the country.
Chairman of the West Demerara Road Safety Association also weighed in at the event. Trotz told Kaieteur News that several transport drivers were trained in being better road users. The training, he said, was conducted by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. About 100 drivers took part in the two-day programme held at the Aracari Resort. They were each rewarded with a Certificate of Completion at the fair.
He stated that the number of road deaths occurring this month is worrying. Based on records from the police traffic department, Trotz said that road safety month is the most fatal month this year.
He said that several bodies are working on a plan to ensure a decline in road accidents. “One death in this country is too many,” he said.
Trotz related that in observance of road safety month, the West Demerara Road Safety Association coordinated several activities. He said that pedestrian crossings in the district were painted. Trotz said, too, that lectures were given to school children on road safety.
He added that the association visited the families of several accident victims to extended sympathy. The retired police noted that pedestrians are the largest category of persons killed on the roadways.
Trotz stated that the association will continue to educate pedestrians on safe road practices.
He recounted that a rally was held last Thursday for Primary School children in that area at the Uitvlugt Community Centre. He said that traffic officers, magistrates and Commander of the Division spoke to the children on various topics.
He extended a warm invitation to members of the public for their presence at the Road safety walk tomorrow. The walk will commence at 15:30hrs from Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara.
The proceedings will go all the way to the Leonora Police Station.
This walk is being held in commemoration of road accidents victims not only in Guyana but around the world.

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