The Guyana Police Force’s Traffic Department has recorded a total of 59 fatal accidents for the year so far, which represents a “slight” decrease when compared with the same period last year.
“So far for this year we are observing 59 fatal accidents as compared to 61 last year, so there is a slight decrease,” Traffic Chief, Superintendent Dennis Stephen said on Tuesday during his appearance on the Force’s weekly Police and You programme.
According to Stephen, speeding is one of the main contributing factors to road accidents. “The law may specify a certain speed limit but it is your responsibility to drive at a safe speed [so] that if you encounter any situation you must be able to stop without causing any injuries to yourself or any road users,” he said.
Stephen also said accidents are a social issue which cannot be addressed by the Traffic Department alone.
Instead, he said all road users must play their part in tackling the issue. “…..Sometimes we look at fatal [accidents] but what about serious accidents whereby a person may lose a limb, rendering him unfit to maintain his family. So it’s a social issue…Those are things that needs to be addressed by all Guyanese. It is not really a Traffic Department issue. It is a general issue and it takes for all to get involved,” he explained.
Stephen is calling on all road users to be responsible when using the roadways. “If everyone look at road safety as a serious issue, we may wake up with no accidents because each one of us observes the rules of the road,” he said.
Just on Tuesday afternoon, overseas-based Guyanese Beeshan Dhoray, also known as ‘Lako,’ 23, of Queens, New York lost his life in an accident along the Bath, West Coast Berbice Public Road.
His new wife, Viroshni Persaud, also known as ‘Roshni’, 19, of Lot 88 Canefield Settlement, East Canje, Berbice was left critically injured.
The couple, who tied the knot according to Hindu rights over the weekend, was returning from signing documents to make their union legal when the accident occurred.
The vehicle in which they were in was driven by
Police had said that Persaud’s cousin, Novashkar Sahadeo, the driver of the vehicle the couple was in, attempted to overtake a hire car and collided with the front of the car and lost control of his vehicle.
On Saturday morning, 32-year-old Stephon Stewart died after he crashed his car into a truck along the Rupert Craig Highway.
Stewart of Charles Street, Charlestown, Georgetown was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last Tuesday, 53-year-old pedestrian, Prahalad Sawh also lost his life after he was involved in an accident along the Lusignan Public Road, East Coast Demerara.
The driver, Leon Lewis, a Ministry of Health clerk was charged and released on $500,000 bail.
