I READ the news about 10 days before Christmas when a motorcyclist lost his life.
According to the police report from the surveillance cameras, in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, the rider tried to avoid the sudden appearance of a pedestrian onto his pathway, then zigzagged into the traffic and fell in front of a canter truck that could not stop in time. He was crushed.

There has been no charge. I don’t want to accuse the dead man of a style of riding behaviour because I don’t know him. But below is a long extract from my September 26, 2024 column. I quoted at length because I believe if motorcyclists are aware of the logistical disadvantage of excessive speed of large motorcycles on Guyana’s so-called highways, tragedies such as the one that occurred near the Harbour Bridge could be avoided. The extract follows:
“In my long columnist career, I cannot remember the times I have written about the foolishness and tragedy that accompanied such a silly mentality of young men who own large motorcycles and believe Guyana is like large countries like the US and Canada, where you can open up and ride at a fast fate, feel the wind in your hair and the thrill all over your body.

“Such young men who felt like that have died over the past 40 years in Guyana and in large numbers. I have seen a couple of those accidents: the last one was at the junction of the East Coast Highway and Sherriff Street, right at the junction. The motorcyclist was almost beheaded. I won’t describe the body I saw because discretion prevents me.

“You cannot go full throttle on your bike because our highways cannot accommodate such high-speed riding. Our highways evolved out of the villages along the East Coast, East Bank of Demerara and West Coast of Demerara. It is unbelievable ignorance for any motorcyclist not to know from Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika; from Subryanville to Moleson Creek, are all areas of thriving population centres and there are no long miles of deserted highways where you can enjoy the thrill of speed. It is a risk going through hundreds of villages at high speed; you will encounter cyclists, animals and people.” (end of quote)

I don’t think I can add anything more to my September 26, 2024 column. How can we prevent more deaths such as these? It is simply impossible for the government and the police force to stop these riders because they are entitled to use the roadways like every other citizen. You cannot ask the police force to warn motorcyclists that the East Bank, East Coast and West Coast highways are not replicas of the 10-lane highways that many developed countries have.

Why should the police force advise the owners of these large bikes that our highways exist right in the heart of villages and districts and in those places, people live in houses right next to the highways and they use the highways in similar ways as they use the normal roads. These bike owners at a commonsensical level have to know this, because when they are on their bikes, they see pedestrians and animal-driven carts using the highways, not to mention the deluge of vehicles on the highways.

If these motorcyclists visit the US, Europe, Canada, China, Brazil, etc, they will see wide, wide highways in which you travel for miles and all you see is the wilderness. It is those highways that you can enjoy excessive speed. If you crash, then there is hardly any incoming traffic to crush you on the road.

In Guyana, the East Bank Highway in the vicinity of the Harbour Bridge is like a normal roadway; the amount of vehicles is never-ending. It is suicidal to open up at excessive speed in that area. Once you slip, the oncoming vehicles will be upon you. I live on the Railway Embankment opposite Movie Towne. Every day I see pedestrians all over the highway going to and coming from Giftland and Movie Town. These pedestrians come from Pattensen, Turkeyen and Cummings Lodge.

It is utterly foolish to open up your bike at a fast rate on the Railway Embankment from the Sherriff Street roundabout to Mon Repos. Either you are going to get into an accident or a vehicle will hit you.

Do you know there is an accident every week, (no exaggeration) at the junction of the Railway Embankment and Movie Towne Road? I am going to end with a note that you will not believe. I am typing this column on Friday afternoon. There were two accidents for that day at the junction. It’s true.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.