CARNAGE on the roadways continues to be a worrying problem, and Sunday’s deadly three-vehicle smash-up is one more piece of evidence that a tighter system is need to squeeze out reckless drivers.Given the persons who perished, it also points to the need for greater parental guidance for children.

Reckless use of the roadways is nothing new; so, too, is the phenomenon of persons drinking and driving under the influence; but a teenage girl leaving her home to attend a late night party without the knowledge of her parents is very disturbing, to say the least.

Hansranie’s death has highlighted several weaknesses that exist in a number of families, and these need urgent attention if similar teenage tragedies are to be avoided. First, it is very important that parents not only believe in their children, but to also know the company they keep and the activities they engage in, both in and out of school. From media reports, Hansranie, 16 at the time of her death, was still a secondary school student at a public secondary school, but enjoyed an unacceptably close relationship with a 23-year-old male.

Her parents were unaware of the relationship, and, more disturbingly, were unaware that she had left home on the night she died tragically with her 23-year-old friend Rudolph Bess. A young lady still in school, Hansranie should have been busy with her books, preparing for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, not being out late at night partying without the knowledge and authorization of her parents.

From all indications, the problem which confronted young Hansranie appeared to have been a delicate one. As a young girl, presumably under vigilant parenting, she was no doubt driven by emotional impulses to daringly explore the world beyond her home. These situations are bound to occur in the life of any teenager, but they can be effectively addressed if parents are open with their children and encourage them to talk about their relationships.

Had Hansranie been forthright with her parents, it is highly unlikely they would have approved of her relationship with a 23-year-old; although, importantly, it would have given them opportunity to address the matter in a way that would have made her understand that while relationships are important in life, the one she shared with Bess was not best for her at this point in her life.

Frank and open conversations between parents and their children would help parents to solve many of the social problems facing both parents and children; and if done with due care, will avoid either party later shedding tears of regret.

And while proper grooming of children should begin in the home, it should also be supported by the education system. Here is where the Ministry of Education needs to pay greater attention to the Health and Family Life Education programme that it launched several years ago, but has been implementing at a pedestrian rate in the school system.

The list of problems facing families is long. A teenager getting away from home for some late night fun is one; getting killed with her friend in a road accident is another. If the former had happened because of immature judgement, the latter was a case of pure recklessness. One has to ask when will reckless on the roadways stop; and, more pointedly, why are some people still driving.

Understandably, it would be a challenging task for the police to know all the reckless drivers in Guyana, but this should not deter them from sifting these disasters waiting to happen.

Regular patrols and the use of speed guns have been helpful in tackling the problem, but it is time that efforts be made to have all drivers of vehicles, who use the public roadways, undergo mandatory re-testing every three years. This would not only instill in them the need to use the roads with care, but would help in identifying and reducing the number of persons who obtain their licences through underhand means.