— ‘Young persons are just using the roads in a reckless manner and throwing away their lives’—Chairman

By Feona Morrison

FOLLOWING a string of deadly traffic accidents that have taken the lives of several young people, the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) is calling for higher fines and stricter enforcement of traffic laws across the country.
The growing number of traffic incidents involving young drivers has deeply concerned the GNRSC, which has long been an advocate for safer roads and responsible driving.

The Chairman of the GNRSC, Earle Lambert, did not mince words when addressing the launch of the Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum 2024 and Road Safety Campaign on Friday last.
“Guyana has a small population and what we are seeing is not nice. Young persons are just using the roads in a reckless manner and throwing away their lives,” he passionately stated.

Many of these accidents, according to police reports, involve speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and distracted driving, often due to the use of mobile devices.
Adhering to traffic laws is still a major issue, according to Lambert, even though the government has been putting procedures in place to ensure safety on the roads, including hiring a company to investigate possible steps in this respect in the short, medium, and long-term.

The findings of the report will be released later this year, according to him.
He reminded, “The Road Safety Council was set up to educate, advocate and to cooperate. Educate means educating the population when it comes to road safety. Advocate means lobbying various agencies including the government for systems to be out in place when it comes to road safety and cooperate means to assist the police force traffic department with road safety.”

Lambert continued his speech by referring to several government initiatives, such as the laws against drunk driving and the duties placed on bar owners, as well as the placement of traffic cameras on important highways. Significantly, he advocated for higher traffic fines and the revocation of driverS’ licences following a certain number of infractions.
“We are now asking for fines to be increased. What we would like to see is strict enforcement [of traffic laws] because we need to arrest the situation. We can no longer accept as normal, persons going on the road and going beyond the speed limit and causing other’s death besides themselves.”

During his speech, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, stated that young male drivers are mostly to blame for most vehicular accidents in Guyana.
“Young men, mostly young men…in the public transportation sector. Young men who will go carousing and then become drivers of vehicles. Our statistics perhaps as yet do not discern what the impact of driving under the influence is in relation to road traffic deaths and accidents.

“And again, I say all our problem is improper male adult behaviour. Our men still have economic power and physical power and our men still think they alone should lead.
“It merely talks about speeding but much of the speeding comes as a result of young and middle-aged men too I think. When we look at the problem of course as it was mentioned that most of the accidents and the fatalities resulted are …mostly young men and of course there are others too, who are impacted directly,” Minister Benn said.
Serious accidents happen on the extended weekend, which runs from Friday to Monday, and in the evening, according to him. He believes that increasing traffic fines by at least three times will help to bring the situation under control.

“It is my view that we should increase the traffic fines by three times. It is our intention to put in place the requisite technology and the tracking of cases at the courts and other places with the effort of the Guyana Police Force to ensure that we make those people who continue to be reckless and dangerous on the road, that they must pay the requisite fines and sanctions. They could afford it. So, there is no use we have billions of dollars in unpaid fines…”

As Guyana works in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 with an aim to cut traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030, the minister of home affairs has called on everyone to join the efforts to battle traffic accidents.