Road Safety is everybody’s business

Dec 25, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

As the wanton destruction of lives, limbs and property continues on our roads and highways, with the minibus drivers being the greatest sinners, it also can and must be said that other categories of road users are contributing significantly. We must acknowledge that these buses are providing an invaluable service to the people in all of our 10 Administrative Regions of our country and in the same breath I can say they have become over the last decades the most dangerous weapon on our roads and highways, but the question is can we all do without them; the answer is a resounding no, and while they might be a group of persons or should I say the privilege few who do not use these buses those persons depend heavily on us who use this vital service daily in every region and route in more than one way.
I can remember when the National Road Safety Council was a vibrant organization in Guyana, it was headed by one Mr. Naraine, I cannot remember this goodly gentleman’s name, but he was from Enterprise on the East Coast of Guyana. There was a slogan “Road Safety is everybody’s business, get involved now”, they were a whole lot of activities for road safety month including the Best Driver Competition for all categories of vehicles, erecting and painting of signs, lecturing to all school, and a host of other activities.
The world has changed, the population has grown, they are far better roads and highways and more of them also, they are also more and more vehicles and faster ones also, a lot of people would not know what the Morris Oxford, the Austin Cambridge, the Consul, the Vauxhall and many others looks like, they were by far slower and studier.
All of our daily papers front pages and on social media carried a photograph of the mini bus which was involved in the accident thereby claiming the lives of five persons and severely injuring many others. The bus was reduced to what you can describe as a heap of twisted metal.
You don’t have to be a Police Officer or a driver to conclude that speeding may have been the major cause of the loss of so many lives and serious injuries to several persons, the evidence was there to make such a conclusion.
I read another newspaper of Friday 20.12.2019, page 7, written by one Mr. Keith Evelyn a person that a lot of us know, that for decades this gentleman has been associated with the insuring of Motor Vehicles of all types. His letter was very, very edifying, paragraph three speaks volume but the question is where do we as a people go from here?
Each Guyanese has a critical role to play if we are to get on top of this woeful situation as it is. It can be said that the Ministry of Public security has done and will continue in its effort to curb this carnage on the road as it is currently.
The Top Cop is on record making certain comments that surely indicates that they are some rouge Traffic Cops in the Police Force and efforts are being made to weed them out; the persons who purchases mini buses and give to the drivers and conductors to operate have a role to play. The travelling public have their role to play.
The Commanders and each and every member of our Police Force have a role to play, the Magistrates and Judges, the Teachers, each and every one of us have different roles to play because when we are in the confines of our home and may even be sleeping, we have friends, relatives, neighbours, workers and a whole lot of people who we know are on our roads and highways. Mr. Keith by way of his letter has made a sterling contribution to make our roads and highways a safer place.
I have done before now by way of letters to the editors of our daily newspapers and will continue to so do, in an effort to minimize the loss of lives, limbs and property that are wantonly destroyed on a daily basis on our roads. We never know for whom the bell would next toll.
Road Safety is everybody’s business; get involved not tomorrow but now.

Archie W. Cordis

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