Dear Editor,
Traffic deaths seem to outnumber the total of all lives lost from the years of conflict from 1963 up to the present times plus all the people killed by the bandits plus all the people killed by the police. Have I counted right? If so, greater priority should be given to improving traffic safety than to capturing the bandits.
In Guyana you learn to drive with help from a friend or relative. You learn to steer the car. The theoretical knowledge about traffic safety you do not learn from this friend or cousin.
A qualified driving school teaches using slides or films showing actual traffic situations and how they should be tackled and what to do and what not to do. At the driving test you need to answer questions based on slides showing real life traffic situations. Is this how the test is conducted in Guyana or does the driver merely need to demonstrate he can steer the vehicle?
Most accidents seem to occur on bends. Do Guyanese know that only a very tiny 10% increase in speed is enough to make you lose control in a bend? This should be taught as part of theory. And that the tyres should not be worn, should all be of the same brand, and should have the correct pressure? That rain makes the road slippery, that sand provides an unstable surface?
Are ABS brakes not used? Have drivers been taught to respect pedestrian crossings? And the traffic lights? Do they know about the dulling effect of only a very tiny quantity of alcohol? Why are fire engine drivers and ambulance drivers so badly trained?
Yours faithfully,
Gilbert Campbell
