By Kurt Campbell
[www.inewsguyana.com] – The frequent occurrence and what appears to be an upsurge in road fatalities has caught the attention of Police Commissioner, Leroy Brumell.
Brumell expressed grave concern over what he said was an alarming occurrence of fatal accidents while speaking to iNews on Monday (November 18).
He is appealing to road users to be more responsible in their activities.
“This should be road safety month… It’s just carelessness that is causing people to have their lives snuffed out,” the Commissioner exclaimed.
At the weekend, six persons reportedly lost their lives on the roadways among which was a ‘hit and run’.
The Police Commissioner said his ranks will continue their traffic enforcement programmes in an effort to reduce offences that can lead to such unfortunate incidents.
At the end of October, Police reported that there was a decrease by five road fatalities in comparison to the same period in 2012.
According to statistics released, there were 85 fatalities from 79 accidents in 2013 compared to 90 fatalities from 83 accidents during 2012.
The period January 1 to October 31, 2013, saw reductions in relation to the other categories of traffic accidents – serious, minor and damage.
So far, pedestrians have been the main road users affected with 29 such persons having lost their lives at the end of October 2013.
In addition 14 motor cyclists, 12 pedal cyclists, 12 drivers of motor vehicles, 2 pillion riders and 16 passengers of motor vehicles also lost their lives.
The Police added that speeding continues to be a major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 55 of the 79 fatal accidents recorded at the end of October 2013.
Traffic enforcement by the police during the period January to October 2013 resulted in a total of 72,216 cases being made against errant motorists; of this total 18, 810 cases were for speeding.
