Are our human resource our greatest assets or is the saying balderdash?

Mar 31, 2019 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Since the unfortunate deaths of the two daughters of Mr. Desmond Hoyte on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway over four decades ago, there have been several multi casualty accidents on various stretches of that highway as a result of vehicles running into broken down trucks which are not visible to oncoming drivers. I am not aware of anything constructive being done by the
authorities to stem the flow of this carnage.
On January 13th 2019 while reading INEWS Guyana on the deliberations emanating from the last statutory meeting of the Region 10 Democratic Council (RDC), I saw the following quote:
“Heavy duty trucks still operating haphazardly on Linden Highway Councilors. Mackenzie –
Wismar Bridge scale trucks severely overweight. Regional Chairman Renis Morian promised to raise the issue at the region’s security meeting. He also reminded the council that several high-
level meetings were held regarding the same issue, last June. Officials met and discussed recommendations and measures of enforcement for heavy- duty trucks in an effort to curb road
fatalities and the destruction of roads within the region and along the Linden Soesdyke Highway.
A picture included in the report showed a long vehicle with cab stretched entirely across a road
with cab just turning off the right hand side of the bush road and piles extending over the left hand side of the road. e
The report coming out of the statutory meeting, got my interest since prior to my departure overseas in March 2018, I had visited my school friend Steve Bovell’ s farm at Moblissa, where he was successfully growing Irish potatoes and I had then presented the Linden Technical
Institute, specifically Ms Brotherson, Principal, with a telescope to galvanise the students’ interest in space exploration.
My affinity with Linden goes over back to Prince Phillip’s visit to the Demerara Bauxite
Company in 1966 when I was taken by DCA Alec Phillips to Mackenzie to provide a limited Air Traffic Control Service to aircraft landing at the nearby airport associated with his Majesty’s visit, including lunch at Watooka House in the company of Mr. Proctor Snr. I had in July, 2012 initiated a fund for the relatives of Lindeners shot and killed in a protest.
Editor, being taken aback that solutions to reduce the continued carnage on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway which continues for years involving heavy, long vehicles cannot be found, I decided to do some research online.
From my meagre resources as a pensioner, I purchased (a) 1-
3 TRAFFIC TRIANGLE REFLECTORS SAFETY WARNING KIT and (b) 28″ ORANGE
battery lighting TRAFFIC CONES, which could be used together or separately to highlight the presence of any obstruction to the smooth and unimpeded flow of traffic on any highway
Samples are being given to this newspaper.
Editor, I will now take the bull by the horns and I insist that the authorities from the level of
His Excellency the President issue a dictum through the Ministry of Public Security and/or Social Protection that all long vehicles or vehicles and trailer with a GVN of more than 12 tonnes must carry three portable warning triangles at all times and if the vehicle breaks down, orange cones would be of added help.
If a vehicle required to carry a warning triangle stops, or the load being carried by the vehicle falls onto the road and is not visible 200 meters in all directions, the driver must put the first triangle 50-150m from the front of the vehicle or fallen load.
The second triangle should be placed 50-150m from the rear of the vehicle or fallen load.
The third triangle should be placed at the side of the vehicle or fallen load in a position that gives sufficient warning to other road users of the position of the vehicle or fallen load.
This dictum will specify that all vehicles described be required to be equipped with hazard
warning lights by a deadline of 30th April 2019.
Based on the value of the load carried by these heavy and long vehicles, they should be no
monetary problem to having them air-freighted into Guyana to meet the April deadline. Daily inspection to ensure compliance must be carried out. Any shaking down of vehicle drivers and operators by the police will be dealt with condignly. It must be noted that from the picture of the long vehicle in this article I would need additional man power in the form of one or two marshallers
with wands to alert approaching traffic of a turning traffic hazard.
Accept, Editor, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Aubrey Alexander
Deputy Director
Civil Aviation (Retired)

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