Road Safety Reform Has Been Parked for Too Long

Nov 18, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

I have noted with interest the recent announcement by the Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the introduction of Auto Control Speed Governors for trucks under the new Auto Control Speed Management System.

Let me state clearly that I welcome this initiative. It is a necessary and overdue step in the right direction. If properly implemented and enforced, it has the potential to save lives and bring much-needed discipline to our roadways.

However, I cannot help but observe that this measure has been a long time coming. The issues the GPF is now attempting to address through this system are the very same ones I have been raising for more than a year, both in Parliament and in the press.

During the debate on the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill No. 9 of 2024 on July 8, 2024, I cautioned that the behaviour of truck drivers and the lack of regulation governing heavy-duty vehicles posed “a clear and present danger” to other road users. I specifically urged that the government hasten the regulations on truck operations and enforce strict limits on speed and overloading. I also called for stronger public education, because passing laws without ensuring people understand them only breeds confusion and resentment.

Later, in November 2024, I wrote publicly on the worsening road safety crisis in Guyana. I described how overloaded, poorly maintained trucks driven by fatigued operators were speeding through populated areas, causing destruction, injury, and death. I noted then and I repeat now — that it is not enough to blame individual drivers. These tragedies reveal systemic failures in enforcement and the government’s unwillingness to modernise the way we manage our roads.

In that same letter, I called for zero tolerance toward traffic violations, tougher penalties for speeding and overloading, mandatory driver certification, and the use of technology such as tachographs and automated monitoring systems to regulate truck speeds. Today, as we prepare for the rollout of speed governors, it is satisfying to see some of those ideas finally being adopted though I wish it had happened much sooner.

It has been over a year since the National Assembly debated and passed the Road Traffic Amendment Bill. Since then, little has been done to operationalise its provisions. While I commend the GPF’s decision to host a sensitisation meeting with truckers on November 19 at Eve Leary, it is my sincere hope that this initiative will not become another pilot programme that loses momentum after the headlines fade.

Guyana cannot continue to lose lives while we move at a bureaucratic pace. Every week that passes without enforcement is another week where families are shattered by preventable accidents.

Truckers play a vital role in keeping our economy moving, but road safety is a shared responsibility. This government must act with urgency and consistency, ensuring that these new measures are properly implemented, monitored, and enforced across all regions, not just in Georgetown. If we are serious about saving Guyanese lives, then we must move beyond talk and take decisive action. I, therefore, reiterate my support for the introduction of the Auto Control Speed Governors and urge the authorities to act with greater alacrity in implementing these measures. The time for action is now.

Regards
Hon. Amanza Walton, M.P.

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Auto Control Speed, hasten the regulations, Mandatory Driver Certification, Ministry of Home Affairs, systemic failures

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