Photos and interviews
by Desilon Daniels
With road accidents continuing unabated, quite a number of which are fatal, we asked the man/woman in the street what they thought was the cause of so many crashes. Their comments follow:
Bridget Klights, vendor – ‘These drivers too wild. Too much young people got vehicles and just driving wild and most of them ain’t even got licences. The drinking and driving is another major cause for these accidents we seeing.’
Shawn Harris, businessman – ‘Most accidents here in Guyana is with these young guys and I don’t know what they got in their brains but they got a real speeding thing; they just mashing. They gotta stop drinking and driving too, it really makes no sense cause you lose complete control of yourself.’
Alana Williams, data entry clerk – ‘I think drivers are not concerned with other people using the roads. They’re just thinking about getting to their destinations. Even when you’re at the pedestrian crossing these people do not stop for you. It’s like they were born in a car; it’s like they never walked before.’
Vernal Klass, barber – ‘First of all, the cause of these accidents is a lack of experience and people are not very patient. Most persons are impatient and uncooperative as drivers on the road.’
Carlene Waithe, self-employed – ‘Firstly, drivers aren’t using the caution rules and just driving recklessly without concern for the other road users. Animal rearers also are not taking better care of their animals and are just having them on roadways, causing accidents to occur.’
Junior Johnson, taxi driver – ‘I believe that drunk driving is a big cause [of accidents] and it is the responsibility of the drivers to think about other people on the road. When we get into our vehicles we need to remember that we hold other people’s lives in our hands. The sense of responsibility of many drivers is bad and I feel that it is a sign of the people in the country and a reflection of who they are.’
Percival Sansculotte, bus driver – ‘The entire system needs fixing; what I think they should do is recall all licences – even mine – and let everyone undergo testing again, even for vision. The authorities also need to stop selling licences to people.’
Mark Joseph, student – ‘Most of these accidents are caused by drunk driving. A lot of these people too are influenced by their peers to speed and do nonsense on the road. I think they should raise the age requirements for when people can get licences so people will be more experienced and there should be more breathalyzers on the road.’
Albert Pedro, clothes vendor – ‘In my opinion, I think too many young drivers on the streets today. There are too many people calling themselves drivers and they haven’t even gone through the drivers’ packages. The most inexperienced drivers are on the road today. The police need to do something about it and instead of taking money they need to prosecute these people! The police need to be harsher when they catch these people without licences and we need to increase the age for drivers.’
Aubrey Kadan, auto technician – ‘There are so many things causing accidents; lack of street lights cause people to put on their high beams; causing blinding to other drivers. Reckless driving too, which might be because drivers are buying their licences and they have no knowledge of many road signs. But then again, road signs aren’t in place so even if they [the drivers] did know the signs, there aren’t many to guide them. Another thing is the inconsideration of drivers for other traffic users; even bicycle riders at night with no lights or reflectors cause accidents. If you’re driving without lights, then how will you be seen?”
