43 road deaths for the year trigger new campaign

Jun 01, 2017 News

It is only May, and already, 43 persons have died as a result of road accidents across the country.
With this in mind, the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) in collaboration with

Ramona Doorgen, GNRSC Coordinator

the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be launching an education awareness campaign tomorrow.
The campaign is called “White Night” and it was chosen to divert the public from the regular drunk driving campaign.
White Night means no traffic police will be sleeping on nights during this event – consisting of road blocks and road safety education awareness – set to take place. Instead, they will all be out and about keeping the streets safe.
For the event, the proposed road blocks will be on Vlissengen Road and Sheriff Street (A Division), Bushlot, Albion, Rosehall and Springlands, Berbice (B Division), Sparendaam and Ogle (C Division), Vreed-en-Hoop and Leonora (D Division), McKenzie (E Division), First and Second Avenue, Bartica (F Division) and Anna Regina (G Division).
The White Night Campaign will be held on June 2nd, 30th; July 28th; August 12th; September 1st, 30th; October 27th; November 4th, 12th 24th and December 15th starting at 22:00hrs.
Ramona Doorgen, Coordinator from the GNRSC said that the road blocks will be setup at different locations across the country to educate and sensitize the public on road safety.
Traffic Officers from all Divisions, members of GNRSC, Government Ministers and the Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud, are likely to be at these exercises.
These persons will join the police at the various road blocks assisting with education awareness by sharing information to motorists by way of flyers and bumper stickers. Breathalyzer tests will also be done.
The aim of the campaign is to encourage all road users to decline from driving under the influence of alcohol or designate a driver or stay away from drinking and driving.
“It is very important for the Ministry of Public Security, the GPF and GNRSC to address the drunk driving situation in the country, even though we are at a decrease in road deaths and crashes,” Doorgen said.
Kaieteur News was informed that the GNRSC with the support of the Ministry and the Guyana Police Force are working in an effort to see a continuous decline in road fatalities. Most of the times, these accidents are due to driving under the influence of alcohol and the lack of road safety education.
The road safety council is hoping meet the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, reduction of death by 50% by the year 2020.