By: Tassia Dickenson
An estimated $50.6 million contract was awarded for consultancy services for the development of a Road Safety Diagnostic and Action Plan, which is ultimately aimed at reducing the number of deaths on the country’s roadways.
The US$239,424 contract was awarded to SRKN Engineering & IT Transport Limited on March 21, 2023, under the Ministry of Public Works. The initiative is part of the Adequate Housing and Urban Transport Programme (AHUTP) which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The project is expected to commence in May this year and will have a duration of six months for its completion.
Consultancy works will feature a wide range of services including the review of existing operational procedures with regard to motor vehicle inspection to determine their fitness and identify deficiencies that exist, and draft guidelines to address current deficiencies.
It will also include preparation of draft inspection manual with special emphasis on public transport vehicles and trucks/lorries.
The project will also entail the reviewing the existing Road Traffic Code and preparing a Draft Revised Road Traffic Code that takes into consideration the current standard of practice and operation of the existing road network as well as the assessment of road users’ awareness of issues of traffic regulations and Road Safety and preparing appropriate plans for educating the various categories of road users.
Developing a communication strategy and appropriate key road safety messages aimed at inducing changes in road user behaviour for all categories of road users is also required to be produced by the consultant.
The consultants must also identify the institutional deficiencies of agencies that have a role to play in Road Safety and accident prevention and making recommendations to improve coordination and enhance the efforts through harmonized approach to Road Safety and review the existing practice concerning accident data collection on Guyana’s road network.
Review must also be done of the existing practice concerning accident control/investigation and present practices and methods of traffic police enforcement on Guyana’s road network.
Also on the agenda is the development of an accident reporting mechanism and database that is user-friendly which should include accident reporting forms that allow for the capture of all categories of accidents and all possibly relevant data on such accidents.
The consultants must also review the Traffic Police capabilities in enforcement, investigation, and training and prepare a detailed Road Safety Action Plan to address problems created by public policy, hazardous sections on the public road network, lack of education and enforcement, and vehicle fitness.
In an invited comment on this development, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill says through the implementation of this project, the government hopes to achieve “safer roads, enhanced awareness of road safety, better traffic flow and control greater order on the country’s roadways.”
Road fatalities
For the year so far, the country has recorded a slight decrease in road fatalities, according to Traffic Chief Dennis Stephens during an interview with INews.
He said 30 road deaths have been recorded thus far for the year, compared to 31 for the same period last year.
“What the traffic department is currently doing, we are currently working along with the National Road Safety Council on our educational awareness programme throughout the division. We are [also] working with NGOs in promoting road safety across the country,” the Traffic Chief said.
He noted too that for the year thus far, they have distributed over 100 helmets to motorcyclists, as they are considered the most vulnerable group of road fatalities.
