GEORGETOWN Mayor, Ubraj Narine, believes that if minibus drivers stick within their respective zones, the number of deaths on the roadways will significantly go down.

He expressed this view to reporters following a press conference on Thursday at City Hall that was called to address the issue of Houston Estate’s indebtedness to the City Council.
The mayor said if people stay within their zones, it means that they will likely drive at a better speed, be less tired, and will give others an opportunity to do business.

“That is how it’s done in other countries, even in the Caribbean. When people stay within their zones, you give people in those areas the opportunity to create development. The driver will not be tired, he will not have to drive at that rate, the people’s lives will be safer, and things can happen in the area,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, if drivers respect their boundaries, it means that the City will see less traffic and congestion. “This will solve our issue,” Narine proffered.
“It’s the same thing with Linden. Linden buses ought not to come to Georgetown. They ought to go to Timehri Bus Park, and then those buses will come to Georgetown,” he added.

When he examined the recent accident at Mahaicony, in which five persons died, the mayor reasoned that the driver could have been tired, making his way from Georgetown all the way there several times for the day. Further, he said the driver was speeding possibly because he wanted to hurry back to Georgetown to take up another load of passengers.
He wants for the Guyana Police Force, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, and other related agencies to come together so that they can bring a solution to this problem. “I believe we need a committee or a board where all of us can meet and put forward our ideas.”

He added: “When I visited New York, before I reached my destination, I had to take five buses. They all have zones. What is happening today in the city with traffic is terrible. This is my idea; to deal with the zoning.”

Narine noted that the minibus drivers all know the zones in which they should operate but it is that they’re being allowed to enter the city nevertheless. “Enforcement needs to be there. It will save many lives.”

Every year, the Police’s Traffic Department and the NRSC would dedicate the last week in November towards the awareness of road safety. During this period, numerous campaigns are launched across the country to educate the public about the importance of using the road in a safe manner. However, Road Safety Week 2019 came to a horrific end and has proven to be one of the deadliest weeks for the year so far.

This led President David Granger to issue a message to the nation in which he said that more must be done to prevent deaths, disabilities, injuries and damage to property on Guyana’s roadways. He said he found it “deeply distressing” the number of persons who have lost their lives in road accidents recently.

The Head of State lamented the preventable loss of lives of 21 persons, including three children, in 15 road accidents in November alone. Altogether, his statistics put forward show that 114 persons – including nine children and 30 pedestrians — were killed in 97 road accidents this year while young persons between the ages of 16 and 42 years comprised more than three out of every five fatalities.

Even as the President urged road users to observe the Guyana Police Force’s (GPFs) code of behaviour – care, caution, consideration, common sense and courtesy – as they utilise roadways, he pointed out some of his own proposals made at the launch of Road Safety Month, on November 4, 2015.

The three-point approach includes stricter enforcement of existing traffic laws; increased road safety education; and improved road signs and infrastructure.