Pull Quote: ‘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.’
THE Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC), in expressing  concern over the series of road crashes and deaths, noted that to date Guyana has recorded 49 fatal accidents which have resulted in 52 persons being killed, including five children. However, for the corresponding period last year there were 36 fatal accidents resulting in 37 deaths, including two children.

The GNRSC, in a press statement, also expressed their concern over the fatal accident on Thursday in which three men were killed and two other injured  when a small pick-up owned by the Bosai Mining Company slid under a truck it attempted to overtake on the company’s internal road in the East Montgomery Mines in Linden.

 
Driver, Michael Williams, 45, of Kumaka Mines, Linden; Trenton Gardner, 62, of Industrial Area, Linden; and Kester Grant, of Block 22, Wismar, were pronounced dead on arrival at the Mackenzie Hospital, while Fabian Anthony and Marlon Pollydore were admitted in serious condition.

 “We are extremely concerned about the many lives that are being lost on our interior roads; we are recommending that the responsible agencies implement features that will make these roads safer for use such as the installation of signs that indicate dangerous turns, steep hills or narrow bridge ahead,” GNRSC said.

They said also that as the nation continues to lose precious lives on the roadways, “it is time we took this continuous loss of lives seriously and make a determined effort to further reduce the number of accidents on the road.”

GNRSC observed that in the past year there were 110 deaths on the country’s roads and this included pedestrians and children and “with this in mind we must try to put a human face on the far from acceptable statistics on the frequency of road accidents.”

“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.”

GNRSC said further, “We recognize 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. 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.”

GNRSC concluded that from all of this, “there must be a stricter application of traffic regulations and greater deterrence to the breaking of our traffic laws.”

Meanwhile, the Council said it is convinced that this can be done and it is prepared to work with all Guyanese who wish to make the roadways safe.