Dear Editor,
Your editorial of May 10, ‘Chaos on the road’ mentioned almost everything that causes death and destruction on our roads. However, the question which needs to be asked is, how many drivers out there know the traffic rules?
It is true they all have to purchase a package with all the traffic rules and regulations from the police, study it then attend the theory class before going to the practical, but how many of them have studied the package? True, they can drive, they know how to speed and manoeuvre on the road, but what else? Then again, how many drivers out there can read and write? Probably if one looks at the kinds of vehicle some policemen drive and examine their pay one might get a better picture of the whole scenario.
The most chaotic road right now is the East Bank Demerara road. A survey can probably be done to see how many man hours are wasted on the roadside by people waiting for transportation every day, and how many spend over an hour in a bus or car going a distance that used to take 25 minutes at the most.
And finally I have been saying for the longest while timber being transported down East Demerara for export should go by river on pontoons, not on lorries or in containers, and animal-drawn vehicles should come off the East Bank Road altogether; these things are causing chaos.
Yours faithfully,
WP George
