THE Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) yesterday expressed alarm and concern at the number of road fatalities which have already occurred during this year.
To date Guyana has recorded 59 fatal accidents which have resulted in 62 persons being killed inclusive of 3 children.
GNRSC said: “We need to remind ourselves that we as a nation continue to lose precious lives on our roadways. It is time we take this continuous loss of lives seriously and make a determined effort to further reduce the number of accidents on the road. Let us remind ourselves also, that in the past year there were 115 deaths on our roads this included pedestrians and children. We must try to put a human face on the far from acceptable statistics on the frequency of road accidents”.
The GNRSC added that too many families are left without a father or a mother; mothers are robbed of those they have brought into the world, fathers of their sons and daughters. In the final analysis significant numbers of accidents rob this nation of valuable resources, a situation which is harmful to its development.
The organisation said it recognises that the police and the concerned authorities, through laws and education, are making a valiant attempt to bring some measure of order on our roads in order to reduce accidents and deaths.
GNRSC said: “We commend them for this. But much more needs to be done. We know from the statistics that many deaths are caused by indiscipline, speeding not adhering to the traffic laws and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol. We must conclude from all this that there must be a stricter application of traffic regulations and greater deterrence to the breaking of our traffic laws. The GNRSC is convinced that this can be done and is prepared to work with all Guyanese who wish to make our road ways safe”.
It added that in this regard, “we believe the five C’s Care, Caution, Courtesy, Consideration, and Common Sense can help to reduce accidents and finally GNRSC makes yet another plea to our drivers to use the roadways with care and try at all times to avoid accidents.”