There has been a slight decrease in road deaths for the first two months of this year, according to the Guyana Police Force.
Upon releasing statistics for the period January 1 to February 29, the force yesterday said 17 road fatalities have been recorded from 17 accidents for this period in comparison to 19 fatalities from 12 accidents for the same period in 2015, representing a decrease of 11%.
Six of the accidents occurred in ‘C’ Division, five in ‘A’ (Conversation Tree to Dora) Division, two each in ‘B’ and ‘G’ divisions and one each in ‘E’ (Linden) and ‘F’ (interior locations) divisions.
There were no fatal accidents in ‘D’ (West Coast Demerara) Division.
The release said that one child has died as a result of a traffic accident in comparison with seven for the corresponding period last year.
The release informed that for March 1 to March 13, six persons have been killed as a result of six accidents.
It was stated that pedestrians have been the main category of victims in road fatalities in the first two months, with five having lost their lives. In addition, three pedal cyclists, three motorcyclists, four drivers, a passenger in a vehicle and a pillion rider also lost their lives.
Speeding has been the major contributory factor to fatal accidents, having been the cause of 10 of the 17 fatal accidents, the force noted.
It was stated that traffic enforcement by the police has resulted in a total of 11,783 cases for this year being made against errant motorists up to the end of February. Of this total, 4,080 cases were for speeding, 442 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 130 for using cell phone while driving and 379 for failing to wear seatbelts.
The Traffic Department, it was stated, has intensified its enforcement activities, with special focus on speeding and driving under the influence, driving motor cycles without safety helmets and using cell phones while driving a motor vehicle.
