Govt. proposes amendment to legislations to help curb drunk driving

May 15, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – In an effort to reduce road fatalities and accidents caused by drunk driving, the government has revealed several proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Cap. 51:02 and the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act, Cap. 82:21 which will see harsher penalties and fines for persons convicted.

In a press release on Saturday, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, said that the move to amend the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act is “in response to the large number of motor vehicular accidents, inclusive of those resulting in fatalities on our public roadways, specifically caused by an unacceptable high incidence of drunken driving.
He explained that the Government of Guyana has made a decision to take a series of measures to confront this serious problem.
According to the AG, legislative reform is one of those measures. In this regard, the government is proposing to strengthen and expand existing legislation and imposing more punitive measures.
Once amended, drunk drivers can face increased jail time, permanent revocation of their driver’s licence, motor manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm charges.
A draft of the legislation seeks to amend the Principal Act by inserting a new section, 35A.
That section states that a person can be found guilty of motor manslaughter, where that person causes the death of another person while driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a drug.
This offence is an indictable one and the penalty is a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years. Where the person has caused grievous bodily harm to another person, while driving under the influence, the penalty is a term of imprisonment of not less than five years.
It is further proposed that a person convicted under this section shall be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for three years. Persons can also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for 12 months.
Where the person is convicted for two consecutive offences, the person shall be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for 24 months, and where there is a third conviction, the person shall be permanently disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence.
At present, the penalty for driving under the influence and losing control of the vehicle is a fine ranging from $30,000 to $60,000 or imprisonment for 12 months and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, there is a fine ranging from $40,000 to $80,000 and imprisonment.
It is now proposed that the fines will be increased to not less than $200,000 for first-time offenders and $300,000 for second-time offenders.
Additionally, the AG will seek to amend the Intoxicating Liquor Licencing Act, Cap. 82:21 for the purpose of strengthening provisions that prohibit drunkenness on premises licenced under the Principal Act.
Clause 3 of the Bill seeks to amend section 54 of the Principal Act by substituting for subsection (1), the duties placed on a licence holder to not permit drunkenness on the licenced premises and creates new duties for the licence holder to discourage drinking and driving. The new subsection provides that a licence holder shall not permit any drunkenness on his premises nor sell, give or barter or allow another person to sell, give or barter intoxicating liquor to a drunken person within the premises.
Additionally, the licence holder is mandated to not sell, give or barter intoxicating liquor to a person he knows is likely to leave the premises by driving a motor vehicle unless a designated driver is identified.
Consequently, he shall not sell, give or barter intoxicating liquor to a person identified as a designated driver.
Further, where the licence holder knows that a drunken person is attempting to drive or is in charge of a motor vehicle, he shall inform the nearest police station and request their immediate assistance. Moreover, a licence holder is also now required to conspicuously post signs and ensure that announcements are made, on the premises that discourage drinking and driving.
In addition, section 54 is also amended in subsection (2) to increase the fines for breach of these duties by the licence holder from $2000 to $100,000 for a first offence, and from $5000 to $200,000 for a second offence.
The effect of this amendment is that it is now mandatory that a licence holder must refuse to admit to the premises any person who is drunk, violent, quarrelsome, or disorderly.
Additionally, clause 4 amends subsection (2) to increase the penalty for breach of this provision from $3000 to $100,000.
The proposed bills will lead off the government’s consultations with important national stakeholder organisations and interested members of the public on these proposed legislative measures.
These draft Bills can be accessed on the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs website www.mola.gov.gy and submissions and recommendations are hereby invited within 21 days from the date hereof to [email protected].
Additionally, these draft Bills will be circulated to relevant national stakeholder organisations for their submissions and recommendations within a similar timeframe.

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