THE Home Affairs Ministry is currently in the process of recruiting traffic wardens who will be responsible for assisting the Guyana Police Force (GPF) with the general control and regulation of traffic and enforcement of motoring and parking laws.

This is in keeping with the provisions of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, which was amended in 2011 to empower the Police Commissioner with the approval of the Minister, to appoint persons as traffic wardens.
Persons who wish to become traffic wardens must satisfy the requisite criteria, and will be exposed to the necessary training (case file preparation, issuance of traffic tickets, courtroom and law enforcement ethics, anger management, and basic first-aid) that will equip them to effectively execute their mandate.
They must be at least 18 years of age with a minimum of three CXC/CAPE subjects (Grade Three passes in Mathematics and English), be in good physical health and have no criminal record.
Traffic wardens, who will be paid a salary of $59,360 monthly, may also be called upon to give evidence in court if the need arises. They will be sworn-in as rural constables in accordance with Police Act so as to ensure that they are better able to perform their functions.
Those recruited will be part of a six-week training programme, which will be conducted by suitably qualified ranks from the GPF and will also include field exercises.
Importantly, persons who, in any way, obstruct a traffic warden from executing his/her duties could face a fine of $30,000 and six months imprisonment. This too, was provided for under the amended Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act.
The Traffic Department of the GPF has been working continuously to initiate ways and means to encourage safer road use.
Some of the major interventions by Government to curb recklessness on the roadways include the introduction of the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) regulation which is complemented with the use of the breathalyser, seat belt regulation, radar guns and now traffic wardens. The latter however, needs more support from the public to be successfully implemented.
At the end of July, the GPF recorded an increase of 10 road fatalities (61 fatalities from 58 accidents) compared to the same period last year. However, the period January 01 to July 31 saw reductions in relation to the other categories of traffic accidents – serious, minor and damage.
Thus far, pedestrians have been the main road users affected with 21 such persons having lost their lives at the end of July 2013.