Driving in Guyana is hazardous to your life

Nov 30, 2021 Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – There is a chorus line to a song called Da Dip, the lyrics of which go like this:
I put my hand upon your hip
When I dip you dip we dip
You put your hand upon my hip
When you dip I dip we dip
I put my hand upon your hip
When I dip you dip we dip
Most road safety codes prescribe that where there is no streetlight; you should drive with your high beam lights but must dip when vehicles are approaching. Where areas are well lit, it is recommended that motorists drive with their lights dipped.
The problem in Guyana is that even where there are streetlights, the street lighting is of such poor quality that many motorists are forced to use their high beam. This would be a problem, as it appears that many of our drivers ignore the requirement that when a vehicle is approaching from the other direction, you should dip your lights.
As a result of this indiscipline, many drivers find themselves blinded by the glare of the high beam of oncoming vehicles whose drivers refuse to dip their lights. And this can lead to accidents. The failure of motorists to dip their lights represents a serious problem on the country’s roadways.
In Guyana, the streetlights are atrocious. There are large stretches of public roads in which there are no streetlights. This makes visibility difficult. And to add to motorists’ woes is the tendency for persons to be riding bicycles without lights and the wearing of dark clothing by pedestrians, which makes it difficult for them to be seen by motorists. Then of course, there is the constant presence of animals seeking warmth of traversing our roadways.
Motorists therefore not only have to contend with approaching bright lights but also cows, pigs, goats, horses, dogs, cats and all manner of animals on the roadways. They also have to negotiate cyclists riding cycles without front or rear lights and drunken pedestrians suddenly weaving out into the traffic.
Where there are streetlights, it is not uncommon to find that many of them are not working. It is not clear what programme exists for the daily checking of these streetlights but even on public roads this is a major problem.
The previous APNU+AFC Government had launched a massive campaign to install streetlights in a number of areas. Unfortunately, it does not appear as if sufficient attention was paid to ensuring that non-functional lights are quickly repaired and restored to working order.
In 2019, concerns were raised about non-functioning streetlights on public roads. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure was reported by this newspaper as saying that some of these complaints were gross exaggerations.
What is not an exaggeration is the poor lighting of many of the lamps. It appears as if little attention has been paid to ensure that the lights provide sufficient illumination to provide good visibility at nights, including at the shoulder of the roads.
One has to ask whether any light tests are done on streetlights to ensure that they provide the minimum visibility, which would allow a motorist clear sight of what is ahead and what is beside. The lighting should also be of such as to ensure that a person could drive with their dip lights safely.
Many of the streetlights on public roads are mounted so high on the lampposts that they do not provide sufficiently bright illumination. The Ministry of Public Works should seriously consider lowering the height of many of these streetlights so as to improve visibility.
But motorists also need to be reminded of the rules of the road. When a vehicle is approaching and your bright headlamps are on, you are supposed to dip your lights. Some drivers couldn’t care less. They drive at nights with their bright lights and because the streetlights do not provide sufficient illumination, it fails to neutralise the effects of the bright lights.
The PPP/C administration should undertake an assessment of the streetlights on our public roads. Because many of them are perched too high in order to properly illuminate the road, this makes driving on the road more hazardous rather than safe. (Republished)
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Driving in Guyana is hazardous to your life

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