BY definition an accident is an incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally. The first thing that an instructor tells his/her student driver is to use the road carefully so that he/she will avoid accidents, that’s why driving schools today teach defensive driving courses. On the same topic there is driving that cannot be categorised as defensive or safe with the resultant deaths that we see taking place from time to time. I cannot be convinced that someone imbibing alcohol to the point of being drunk then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle causing death or serious injury to another road user considers that an accident, most certainly not that was a deliberate act and not an accident. Or an unlicenced driver or a speeding motorist while playing loud deafening music causing death or harm to another in the process of his reckless attitude should refer to the term accident these are all intentional acts and the use of the word murder or vehicular homicides are most appropriate terms here.
The horrific scene that we witnessed recently on the Corentyne is a case in point wherein one of the drivers, the driver of the motor lorry, was cleared of driving under the influence we are not so sure of the deceased driver of the minibus. So for fairness let us assume that both drivers could have been cleared of DUI, but what about speeding or driving with loud music? The macabre scene that greeted us tells an all too familiar story death due to speeding nothing short of that if you get my drift. Speeding with loud blaring music impairs the judgement of the road user hence maneuverability of one’s vehicle where corrective measures could have been taken is lost. The frightening thing is playing loud pulsating music and speeding are not considered traffic offences anymore. In Guyana today you can drive at break-neck speeds under the very noses of the police and it is considered all well and good until the inevitable takes place and we moan and groan. Such sick scenes are not new to us as we recall the Linden smash up some years ago where a similar number of persons lost their lives due to speeding, the point is, we have not learned our lesson and the madness on our roads continue as the death count rises.
I recount a situation that befell me last August on a minibus plying the Lodge-South route. After some harassment I got into this bus with a driver who commandeered his vehicle as there is no tomorrow as he overtook everything in his path, did I forget to mention the music was those loud lewd Jamaican nonsense. I held my breath and kept saying to myself that this ride will not have a happy ending. Once that driver hit Norton Street (not the prescribed route) all hell broke loose, the speed became unbearable until premonition dictated that I say something which came in the form of a shout to the driver to drive responsibly. No sooner did I say this that a barrage of “cuss words” of the worst kind flowed from the mouth of the sweaty poorly dressed conductor. As I disembarked he had a few more parting words for me “buy u own F***g bus dat is how we do it in Guyana u hear.”  That conductor sums up the foolishness that passes for driving. Now in my book a driver caught speeding should be charged and an appropriate form of punishment being a revocation of his licence. He should not drive again ever. Make no mistake these guys go on to kill people. Penalties in the nature of what I have suggested would have removed another potential killer from our roads. A similar penalty applies for those causing death by dangerous driving or under the influence.