…seen as a main cause of serious accidents in Berbice

Unlighted pedal cyclists and stray animals are responsible for many of the serious traffic accidents in Berbice, officer in charge of traffic in ‘B’ Division (Berbice) Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud said.

“We will be going for zero tolerance against the unlighted cycles. Persons will be ticketed if precautions are not taken, the fine is $5,000, and when that is paid the cycle will not be released until lights and reflectors are purchased and placed on the cycle…I would also like to see unbranded animals seen on the roadways be confiscated as many animals are not branded and when accidents occurs, there is no signs of the owners,” he said.

Although drunk drivers and speeding contribute to the most of the fatal accidents in Berbice, Persaud said diligent works by traffic ranks resulted in a decrease in fatal accidents for 2016.
In making a comparison, the Superintendent said in 2015 there were 22 fatal accidents resulting in 30 deaths while in 2016 there were 15 accidents and 16 deaths. Of the 16 deaths in 2016 six were pedestrians, three were motorcyclist and the remainders were pedal cyclist.

He said 10 of these fatal accidents occurred during the day and five in the night, while eight of the fatal accidents occurred on the weekends. In 2016 eleven of the persons killed were between the ages of 7-35 years of age which represent a young population. The driver involved in these accidents range from 16 -40.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Persaud said last year 8,078 persons were charged for speeding within the division and 796 for driving under of the influence of alcohol. Lamenting that the fines for DUI’s is too low Persaud opined that it should be increased to $50,000 and over for driver who continue to flout the law.
“Drivers under the influence of alcohol should use a taxi to get home instead of driving, which can result in a fatal accident. Many people who are drunk feel to themselves they can drive safely to return home, but based on what we see on the roadways this is not the reality, many never return home,” Persaud said. He said in 2016 there were 90 serious accidents, 89 minor and 103 damage accidents while in 2015 there were 69 serious, 104 minor and 129 damage accidents

Meanwhile, the Traffic Superintendent said persons choosing to use private hire cars must be aware that if there is an accident they will not be covered by any insurance. “We cannot drop our guard and we will intensify our effort in protecting citizens,” he said.
Focusing on the positives adopted by Traffic ranks in Berbice, Persaud said a special televised programme titled “Road safety and you” gives citizens the opportunity to voice their concerns, which are eventually addressed. He said in 2016 thousands of flyers on DUI’s were shared out to drivers while several driver seminars were held. Persaud said during road safety month over 90% of school in Berbice had lectures and there were four road safety rallies.

He explained that in order to keep road fatalities on a low traffic ranks patrol the Upper Corentyne, Central Corentyne, New Amsterdam and Canje, Berbice. “All these measure resulted in a safer roadway since we are aiming for less accidents and deaths on the roadways,” Persaud said. The educational programmes will continue for 2017.