THE Hon Minister of Home Affairs is meeting with various personnel involved in “traffic” and it is a commendable effort to regulate and regularise all aspects of the traffic situation.  There is talk about a secondary or different roadway on which containers should travel. My respectful suggestion is that containers should not be allowed along the roadways. Importers should make arrangements to have their goods transported to their places of business or homes by means of smaller trucks and/or vans.  Our roads are not geared for containers and other heavy-duty traffic. It is a common sight to see containers  parked along the roadways for days on end and some are used by commercial houses to transact business therefrom.
When they remain on the roadways they cause accidents and damage to the roads.  They take them to the countryside and destroy the roadways in the villages when they come out.   Arrangements can be made for the containers to be housed at a location, (point A) from where the goods can be transferred to other smaller vehicles.  To get to point A, containers must follow designated roads and times.
Other Traffic issues:    We see an increase of vehicles on the roads but we do not see a fraction of learner drivers.  There is a perception; some will swear to it, that driving licences are for sale for $50,000.00.  A  police station on the East Coast of Demerara has the honour or notoriety for dispensing such a service.  There is no need for rocket scientists to investigate and trap these purveyors of death and destruction on our roadways.  I think the law is still in force for anyone to drive a commercial vehicle – hire car, minibus, lorry etc – must be no less than a certain age, and must have been the holder of a valid licence for at least two years.
Court prosecutors must demand orders of disqualification from holding or obtaining driving licences for a minimum period of at least 12 months for those convicted for dangerous driving or driving under the influence or drinks or drugs.  It is time the police and the courts get rid of the fallacy that persons can only be charged or convicted when they are involved in accidents.
When anyone is caught driving without the requisite driving licence or is in breach of insurance, he should be disqualified for a period of time, and if the vehicle belongs to someone else the owner of the vehicle should be prosecuted for permitting the breach of the licence or insurance.
Consideration should be urgently given to setting up a traffic court presided over by an experienced Attorney-at-Law.  Justices of the Peace and traffic wardens cannot solve the problem.  Traffic offenders should be dealt with swiftly and condignly.
And finally, for the moment, cannot the Georgetown traffic police put a stop to the glaringly disgusting nonsense by which business people obstruct the roadways, especially in Lombard Street  and Regent Street (and other streets also), by placing obstacles where consumers cannot park their vehicles? We see some signs as: Reserved for Z; Reserved for vehicle NO XYZ. Can they not also enforce the rule that minibuses stop only at the designated bus stops and not willy nilly all over the place: There is no use the Traffic Chief is screaming about traffic problems when he has the solution at his disposal.  Let him instruct his charges to deal with an even hand with all offenders, and not to wave off some minibuses and harass others who are not recognised as drivers of vehicles owned by their colleagues.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD