Dear Editor,
It is interesting to note the occurrence of the 8th International Road Federation Caribbean Regional Conference held last week in Guyana.
SN’s Report of Thursday 16th May contained comparable figures of road fatalities, and while there was mention about the quality of sustainable infrastructure, one hopes that over the three days of the Conference, there was time to focus on Guyana’s traffic management lapses, chronic as they are.
For one thing, there is the regular bland recital of traffic accidents which result in fatalities. But there appears to be no formal mechanism, or capacity to attend to the resultant social and economic impact on the affected families – an insensitivity that also applies to the injured, however badly.
So that the issue is much larger, and more critical, than merely infrastructural. Indeed, it should involve more than the Police Force. Its social and economic dimensions demand the attention of such relevant players as the medical and legal fraternities, as well as related insurance companies.
In this connection, the Ministry of Social Protection could play a creative role. Not to mention the participation of Minibus and Taxi Owners’ Associations.
But it is still the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Public Security to better strategise how traffic accidents can be reduced, and thus save precious lives that can contribute to the economy. (What a perspective!)
More pragmatically, there needs to be an ongoing and focused analysis of the conditions relating to each accident, or type of accident, to determine what lessons can be learnt about reducing, better preventing, the recurrence at particular locations. An IDB study earlier pointed to such contributory factors as:
– inadequate condition of vehicle
– inadequate traffic signage (this is particularly true of this country, now increasingly
trafficked by foreigners)
– obviously inadequate construction and maintenance of roadways
– adequacy of lighting, dependent on the time of the accident (why is there no
lighting on the highway immediately north of the National Cultural Centre; or on
the highway to Ogle Airport?)
– weather conditions at the time of the accident; and of course some others
If a Council is appointed to address issues related to traffic management and its implications, then its membership should be composed of a comprehensive range of authoritative expertise.
Yours faithfully,
E.B. John