Tint crackdown and road safety

Apr 02, 2026 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Police Force has drawn a hard line in the sand. With new tint regulations now in force, the message is clear: comply or face the courts. No excuses. No favours. No phone calls to “big ones” for rescue.

On paper, this is long overdue. For years, tinted vehicles have symbolised more than just privacy—they have come to represent privilege, influence, and selective enforcement. Too many drivers operated above the law, shielded not just by dark glass, but by who they knew. That culture, if it is truly being dismantled, deserves support.

Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has said it plainly: “Don’t call me.” It is a refreshing stance in a society where name-dropping has often trumped the rule of law. If enforced fairly, this could mark a turning point, one where laws are not bent for the well-connected and ignored for the ordinary citizen.

But while the tone is commendable, the timing and intensity raise uncomfortable questions. Traffic Chief, Mahendra Singh has rolled out calibrated tint meters and roadside checks. Officers are out in force. The crackdown is visible, aggressive, and immediate. Yet, even as this unfolds, Guyana is grappling with a far deadlier crisis, one that continues to claim lives at an alarming rate. Twenty-eight people lost their lives on the roadways in just the first weeks of this year. The primary culprit? Speeding.

Not tint.

Member of Parliament Toshanna Famey-Corlette has rightly sounded the alarm. While no one disputes the need for law enforcement, priorities matter. Where is the same urgency, the same nationwide mobilisation, the same zero-tolerance posture when it comes to reckless driving? Where are the sustained campaigns to curb speeding, drunk driving, and dangerous road use?

There is no data linking tinted windows to fatal accidents. None. Yet the spectacle unfolding across the country suggests this is the most pressing road safety issue of our time. It is not.

This is where the government risks sending the wrong message. Enforcement should never be about optics. It should be about impact. And the impact that matters most is saving lives. That said, the tint regulations themselves are not unreasonable. Standardising the system, removing waivers, and ensuring transparency are all steps in the right direction. A uniform law, applied equally, is the foundation of any functioning society. The days of special permissions and backdoor approvals needed to end.

But equality under the law must extend beyond tint.

If a minibus driver barrels down the road at dangerous speeds, he should face the same swift consequences as a motorist with illegal tint. If a drunk driver endangers lives, there should be no leniency. If pedestrians and cyclists are at risk, enforcement must be relentless. What Guyanese are watching now is not just enforcement, it is a test of credibility.

Will this crackdown be consistent, or will it fade once the headlines pass? Will it apply to the powerful as much as the powerless? Will it expand to address the real killers on the road, or remain narrowly focused on what is easiest to police?

The public has heard the warnings. They have seen the roadblocks. They understand the rules.

What they want now is balance.

Because while darkened windows may obscure visibility, it is speeding and recklessness that are burying our citizens. The government cannot afford to get this wrong. Law and order is not a menu from which authorities pick and choose. It is a system that must work in totality: firm, fair, and focused on what truly matters. So yes, enforce the tint laws. Enforce them without fear or favour. But do not stop there.

Because if the same energy is not directed at the behaviours that are actually killing people, then this crackdown no matter how well-intentioned will ring hollow. And the cost of misplaced priorities will continue to be counted, not in fines or court cases, but in lives lost.

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Editorial, Guyana Police Force, Road safety, Tint crackdown

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