– Traffic Chief says, emphasises shared responsibility in ensuring safety on roadways

TRAFFIC Chief, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mahendra Singh has underscored that the presence of traffic ranks on roadways is intended to promote safety and ensure compliance with traffic laws, rather than to intimidate road users.

Singh told the Guyana Chronicle that through enforcement and education, the Guyana Police Force is working to support the smooth flow of traffic and reduce accidents, while reminding the public that road safety is a shared responsibility requiring cooperation from all motorists.

Sharing insight into the work of Guyana’s traffic ranks, Singh explained that they are required by law to be on the roadways. Moreover, he stated that this role focuses on managing traffic and ensuring that motorists follow traffic rules.

“By law, we are required to be on the roadway. Traffic police, specifically along any space that will manage traffic, which focuses on enforcement, education, and engineering,” he said.

The role of the traffic police, he added, is not to deter, intimidate or scare any road user, adding, “Our presence on the road is not to deter you from accomplishing anything positive, but to support smooth, continuous progression that persons are complying with the laws, the rules of the road, and/or they’re practicing this ease of defensive driving.”

Furthermore, Singh shared that the role of the traffic police is to guarantee a reduction in road accidents and fatalities.

Asking the public to reevaluate their perspective on the role of the traffic ranks, Singh stated that both ranks and civilians are users of the road, and both have a duty to keep the roadways safe. “I would like to tell the public that it’s not us against you. It is more of all of us contained in the same environment or captured within the environment that demands safety that guarantees a level of road safety, where there is not a fear of an accident occurring or resulting in an accident occurring,” he said.

Moreover, Singh said the role of the traffic ranks is the same as all other aspects of the force: to protect and serve, adding that motorists should see traffic ranks as protection and support on the roadways.

“I will tell you that our presence is to always guarantee safety. And it’s to ensure that the public understands that they are not intimidated by our presence, but they also have a role to play. And our presence on the road is to guarantee that they operate within the confines of the law on each piece of road that they travel,” he said.

He further urged all road users to exercise patience, follow traffic regulations, and work together to create a safer environment for everyone.