With fatal accidents increasing in Guyana, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said there is a level of irresponsibility that is practised by many drivers and the Police should start revoking driver licences, particularly those of errant public transportation drivers.
Edghill said his ministry has noticed an increasingly alarming trend of excessive speeding and reckless driving on the nation’s roadways – a practice that must never be condoned in a civilised society.
In fact, during a recent stakeholder meeting in Linden Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), the Minister explained that reckless driving and disregard for traffic laws are also resulting in the destruction of public infrastructure, which the Government is expending billions of taxes-payers’ dollars to maintain and rehabilitate annually.
“Yesterday morning, I’m going to my office, and I had to delay a meeting that I had, because I’m going through Cemetery Road, and the concrete walkway, Mr Mayor, the drains covered with concrete, and a mini-bus is on top of there with the school children going to school because it’s two lanes and he wants to get in front. We have to understand, that no matter what you put in place, the culture of safety and the culture of consideration for others must be foremost in our minds, because in anything, development, making money, people are the beneficiaries, and we must put people at the front of everything,” the Minister shared.
Edghill said he plans to discuss this matter with the Home Affairs Ministry and Guyana Police Force (GPF) to put systems in place to address the issue.
“You know what he’s trying to tell me, the minibus man, all the passengers, he said, y’all can’t do this, I’m not going to go, I’m going to ground your bus, I’m going to revoke your licence. You go down Georgetown, Mandela Avenue, and there’s a walkway, just by the police station.
We make the mistake of making the walkway that two people could walk, one coming, and the bus is driving through the walkway. The bicycle lane, which we separate on Sheriff Street, is a bike lane, so the children riding and going to school could be in the bike lane. Buses and cars are in the bike lane. So, I will have the road engineers look at that, but at the same time, even if we put in a speed bump every two meters, we still have to get a culture of safety,” Edghill added.
Over the past two days, three persons have died in accidents on the roadway. In August, the GPF revealed that it recorded a 20 per cent increase in fatal accidents involving motor trucks/lorries for the period January 1 to August 26, 2024, according to its communications unit.
In providing the statistics, GPF’s Corporate Communications Head, Mark Ramotar, related that in the same period last year, there were 15 fatal accidents involving trucks, and that number has not increased to 18 for 2024. Additionally, there has been a 31 per cent increase in non-fatal accidents involving trucks.
Between January 1 and August 26, 2024, there were 187 incidents involving trucks, compared to 143 in 2023. Meanwhile, Guyana has witnessed a decline in both fatal accidents and resultant deaths, according to recent data released back in May by the GPF.
According to the data released, between January 1 and May 14, 2024, there were 78 reported fatal accidents and incidents, marking a decrease from the 84 incidents recorded during the same period in 2023. Correspondingly, the number of fatalities resulting from these accidents has also decreased, with 91 fatalities reported in 2024 compared to 95 in 20
