THE media has constantly been reporting on the many great events and activities that are currently happening in our country. In the same breath, many reports are also being made on the many road accidents caused by reckless driving. It’s one thing for a driver to lose control of his/her vehicle and end up in a minor collision with little to no injuries—but it’s a different ballgame when so many accidents are currently occurring because of irresponsible and dangerous drivers on our roadways. I’m still a user of public transportation. Myself and many other Guyanese depend daily on public transport to get from one place to the next. Roadways on the whole, are never safe. You always need to be on the lookout while using it. We invested so much in beautiful roadways and highways when the majority of the drivers of our country can’t simply follow traffic regulations to commute on said roadways. It’s quite embarrassing to say the least.

To be quite honest, getting into an unknown car with an irresponsible driver is scary. Clearly, these drivers don’t even care about their own safety to drive at such a high speed or disobey almost every traffic law in the handbooks—so why then must I trust them with my own life? It’s sickening to read of the many lives that were loss recently due to speeding, drinking & driving, and reckless overtaking—just to name a few. Some days, I don’t even feel safe as a pedestrian to walk alongside the roadways because of the carelessness of drivers. There are days when I have to stand up and wait long for a generous driver to even stop or slow down at a pedestrian crossing. I’ve even witnessed drivers speeding past traffic police officers at least twice, blatantly disobeying their signals on the roadways.

I do believe that our country needs to have an active road safety engagement program with the general public. Note, the keyword “ongoing”. It should not be for just a day or a week. More efforts should be made to single out reckless drivers and they should be faced with the consequences of their actions as prescribed by the law, not by bribes or favours. I know that we cannot stop the inevitable from happening. However, I’d still like you all to remember that one simple mistake can change your life forever. As simple as sending a, “good morning” text while driving, or having just a single beer before driving off can put you and others in so much danger. I’d like to remind motorcyclists to always wear a helmet. If you’re a driver or in the front seat, be sure to wear your seatbelt. Be sure to always obey the traffic symbols as well as the speed limits for the roadways. One important road safety measure I’ve learned in recent years is that you should always observe other road users and use your mirrors frequently. If you know you’re not a reckless driver, you ought to still look out for reckless drivers. As most of us continue to be road users every day—I hope day after day, we all can get home safely to our families instead of being another number added to the annual statistics for road accidents and/or fatalities.