CHIEF Traffic Officer, Hugh Denhert yesterday appealed to all categories of road users to remain alert when using the roadways in an effort to reduce fatal accidents.He said that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) recorded one more fatal accident for this January period compared to 2013 and even that is too much. “This year so far we had one accident with one death while for the same period last year we recorded two accidents with two deaths,” Denhert said.

The GPF Traffic Department recorded 103 accidents with 112 deaths, with 10 being children for 2013.

Denhert explained that with the resources at hand they have done reasonably well given the fact there is an additional 10,000 vehicles on the roads annually. However, they want to keep fatal accidents to a minimum.

LOOKOUT FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN
The Chief Traffic Officer added that with the start of the new school term road users should be on the lookout for children at all times and remain attentive at the wheel.

He added that traffic campaigns will be enhanced across the country but there are some setbacks in view of understaffing, while court cases often require some traffic ranks to get time off to appear.

TARGETTING ERRANT DRIVERS
Denhert is also appealing to road users to cooperate whenever the police are on the roads to ensure their safety, since they have ongoing traffic campaigns targeting errant drivers who drink and drive and even those who speed.

MINIBUSES
Meanwhile, on the issues of minibus overloading and arbitrary fare increase, Denhert said that passengers need to make a report to the nearest police station, giving the licence plate number of the vehicle being cited for such offences and the police would deal with those matters as early as possible.

He noted that for far too long persons have not come forward to make reports against the lawlessness of the minibus operators and they should assist the police in this regard to make the roads a safer place for all.

***PULL QUOTE: For far too long persons have not come forward to make reports against the lawlessness of minibus operators and they should assist the police in this regard to make the roads a safer place for all – Traffic Chief
Written By Michel Outridge