THE Guyana National Road Safety Council and the United Minibus Association are pleased that steps are being taken to impose harsh penalties on persons accused of, and convicted of, drunk driving.

Proposed amendments outlined in the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022 and Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2022, could see drunk drivers being charged with “motor manslaughter” and be subjected to the permanent revocation of their driver’s licence as well as increased jail time.

GNRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen, told the Guyana Chronicle, on Monday, that the new amendments will not just serve to promote better road use, but they will also serve to create a sort of comfort for those who have lost their relatives to drunk drivers.

The amendments aim to strengthen and expand existing legislation and impose more disciplinary measures against persons found in breach of the laws.

The major changes in the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022 seek to amend the Principal Act by inserting a new section, 35A, to provide for the offenses of motor manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm when driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drink or a drug, which would carry a term of imprisonment of no less than 10 years.

The penalty where a driver under the influence has caused grievous bodily harm to another person will carry a term of imprisonment of not less than five years.

Clause Four of the Bill seeks to amend the Principal Act by inserting a new section, 38A, which will provide for the temporary suspension of a licence, pending the determination of a charge.

If a person is charged for a second time, the court may order the suspension of the licence of that person. Where the person is charged a third time with the aforementioned offenses, the court shall order the suspension of the licence pending the determination of the charge.

Persons refusing to surrender their licence would be fined $100,000 or face imprisonment for three months.

Currently, the penalty is a fine ranging from $30,000 to $60,000 or imprisonment for 12 months, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, there is a fine ranging from $40,000 to $80,000 and imprisonment. The penalties are amended to reflect a fine not less than $200,000 for a first conviction and no less than $300,000 for a second or subsequent conviction.

SHARED REPONSIBILITY
Speaking to the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2022, Doorgen told this publication that shared responsibility for the safety of the roadways must always be paramount.

She added that the council is of the view that bar owners and operators must play a greater role in promoting safety.

Under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2022, the government is looking to expand the duties placed on owners of bars and clubs by mandating them not to sell, give or barter intoxicating liquor to a person they know is likely to leave the premises by driving a motor vehicle, unless a designated driver is identified.

Breach of these proposed amendments could see the licence holder being fined $100,000 for a first offense, and from $200,000 to $500,000 for a second offense.

Further, where the licence holder knows that a drunken person is attempting to drive or is in charge of a motor vehicle, he shall inform the nearest police station and request immediate assistance.

Moreover, a licence holder is also now required to conspicuously post signs and ensure that announcements are made, on the premises that discourage drinking and driving.

The amendments also place the duties of “not permitting” drunkenness on the establishment.

Doorgen noted that this is a duty that should have been taken up by bar owners before the proposed amendment stating, “we should not have had the Attorney General’s chambers or nobody in the world tell us to share the responsibility of having our citizens and our customers safe, because at the end of the day, if you don’t have those persons to buy from the bar then your business would eventually be affected.”

Meanwhile, Doorgen stated that while the council is in support of the current amendments, a major addition that the council would like to have seen was the provision for families of victims of accidents.

She noted that the recommendation by the council would seek to have anyone convicted of motor manslaughter being made to pay the families of the victim provided that the deceased person was the sole breadwinner of that family.

“If a person kills somebody on the roadway and that person has kids and has a wife, that person must pay child support to those children for the rest of their lives and the wife.”

GOOD START
President of the United Minibus Association, Eon Andrews, who also spoke to this publication on Monday, opined that the proposed amendments will provide better governance of drivers, especially those who are responsible for public transportation.
He noted that the new amendments will provide a more “uniformed” approach to dealing with persons who are found guilty of driving drunk and causing accidents.
“People must leave their homes and go into a vehicle without their families having to pray that they reach home safe out of fear of drunk drivers. So somewhere along the line systems must be put in place to mitigate that and I believe that these amendments are a good start,” Andrews said.