Fears of dying in a traffic collision are real for many. We may comfort ourselves with prayers or affirmations, our faith placed in the Divine for safety, while hoping that the physical hands that control the navigation would take caution as we traverse the petrifying highways with fast traffic, turns, and slopes on roads dimly lit at nights.
But caution does not always ensure our safety. One could be the safest of drivers only to have an unfortunate encounter with a speeding man or woman, or a drunken one, or the unlicensed and lose one’s life.
Most of us will not die in a motor vehicle accident. The deathbeds made of shattered glass, dents and torn metal and blood on the road, which leave loved ones drowning in sudden mourning, come unexpectedly. Perhaps the instantaneity of the death may comfort some of us, knowing that our loved ones did not suffer long. But death in such circumstances is not always instant and it isn’t a way that most would choose to leave this mortal coil.
Some believe that there is no such thing as an ‘untimely death,’ that our date is set when we are born and so the shattered glass and dented metal are a part of the plan for some of us. But how cruel is it that whether old or young, we are at risk of dying in such a way when using the roads.
The accident on the East Bank highway this week claimed the lives of five. While perusing the reports I felt immense sadness although the victims were strangers. In such tragedies, it is difficult not to grieve; to not surrender to the despair that threatens one’s time here, although some believe that death is a new beginning and that the spirit is forever.
I watched surveillance footage of just seconds before the accident and then of the vehicles colliding. Was the wagon at fault? Was it in the lane of the police vehicle? Did the driver panic when the police vehicle approached? What if the police vehicle had not been speeding? Did the driver lose control because he was speeding?
I pondered on such questions while imagining what the occupants of each vehicle must have been thinking just before. Did they see the danger before it struck and was there time to panic or be certain that death had come for those who perished?
Police vehicles have been involved in a number of accidents over the years and unfortunately, they sometimes result in fatalities. Because they are the enforcers of the law, including the traffic rules, the police drivers traversing our Guyana roads should be some of the most cautious. But is that our reality? It is normal to witness police vehicles speeding through traffic and breaking traffic rules. The fact that they may be speeding because of emergencies does not negate the fact that lives are often endangered. There seems to be no one to hold the blue and white vehicles that often violate the law accountable. No consequences for them except maybe when they may get into accidents. No one is using the radar guns on police vehicles or stopping them to take breathalyser tests. But can we really expect the enforcers of laws to admonish each other? It would often appear that it is partially a squad of those who in theory are meant to be of good character, but their flaws are excused and violations unpunished and forgiven. It is evidence to support the fact that we exist in a reckless and lawless society; a society where the spirit of hooliganism thrives, where lawbreakers will violate in the daylight and face no consequences.
The enforcers of the law violate the laws they are supposed to uphold while holding private citizens accountable for those same laws. The labyrinth of hypocrisy and injustice often challenges the faith we should have in our police officers. Private vehicles bear the brunt of the responsibility when speeding police vehicles approach. One must make way for them, inconvenient as it may be sometimes, or otherwise collisions might occur more frequently.
After viewing the surveillance footage of the most recent accident, I am not quite sure which vehicle could take the brunt of the blame. However, the discussion about how police vehicles operate on our narrow Guyana roads must be had and not just a discussion and forgotten before long, but measures should be put in place to ensure they operate with more safety on the roads. Yes, sometimes there are cases of emergency. We understand if a crime is in progress or they are in pursuit of some criminal that speed may be required. Sometimes it is the president’s or prime minister’s entourage, but do they really need to speed?
Some of the police vehicles speed because they can. They may just turn on their sirens to get through traffic faster because patience escapes them. Arrogance and impatience at the wheels and this same arrogance and impatience will stop the arrogant and impatient driver of a private vehicle to charge them or collect bribes.
On our streets, those who commit traffic offences are from all sections of our society. The police are not innocent, and neither are many private citizens. We can elaborate on the minibus culture where overloading and loud music are still very rampant; we can write epistles on those who are too impatient to wait at the lights; we can point to those who play their music at the maximum volume seeming not to fear deafness or accident as they speed even in residential streets. Our traffic culture is a bullyish, testing and frightening culture which has already resulted in too many deaths. But we are a people whose outrage often only last a few days. Much of our outrage remains on social media or within private conversations.
Groups like ‘Mothers in Black’ would have advocated for change which resulted in changes such as the use of seatbelt and helmets. We need more of our citizens to stand and demand change. We need widespread behaviour change. It has to be a collective effort between lawmakers, drivers, passengers and pedestrians.
In 2011, an international pledge was made to reduce the number of deaths on the road to zero by 2020 – the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Can we actually accomplish that?
