Dear Editor,
Recently everyone including the government have been bemoaning the carnage that’s unfolding on our roads. I thought I would give my views on the matter. The first question to be asked is who exactly decided that Guyana, with probably the worst roads on the planet, because of a subsoil which is quite literally mud and no bed rock for hundreds of feet, could accommodate 30 ton trucks we now see everywhere. These trucks are quite literally terrorizing the public. Not only are our narrow not well-built roads physically not capable of handling such large vehicles, but the authorities also appear to be completely unaware of what these trucks are doing to the public and our road infrastructure. Most of these behemoths are driven by drivers who have absolutely no concept of the danger they pose.
In the US, there are huge signs everywhere telling trucks not to occupy the fast lane i.e. the left lane, in our case that will be the right lane of the road or highway. These trucks are not only almost exclusively driving in the fast lane, they are also mostly driving above the speed limit equipped with flashing lights, telling you to get the hell out of their way. Since they are already here in Guyana, they should be required by law to occupy only the slow lane i.e. the left lane. I must mention, again, the enormous damage these trucks are doing to our roads, I am not even going to talk about what obstructions are created when one huge truckload of sand is deposited on the narrow roads in Georgetown i.e. places like Prashad Nagar, Campbellsville, Kitty etc. where I live. I read recently that the acting Commissioner held a huge meeting and all he is advising us, is to have respect for each other. Well Commissioner acting, there are a few things which you can do rather than that fruitless request for respect, especially since the rate of carnage seems to have accelerated since your appeal. You want respect? Then do somethings which will gain respect.
1. Raise the fines for speeding from 7,500 to 35,000, and a similar increase for all other traffic offences. 2. Put in place some reward system for your poorly paid police officers when they successfully fine people for these offences. 3. Start with putting signs to direct people what to do, for example we are introducing roundabouts, but the concept that those about to enter the roundabout MUST yield to those already inside seems to have escaped everyone’s attention; there are even police officers standing at the Sheriff St. roundabout who don’t seem to understand this principle. 4. A speed bump is supposed to be a device which forces a person to respect the speed limit in our villages i.e. 30 to 35 KPH; any speed bump which forces one to drive at 2 MPH to negotiate it, is not a control, it is an impediment. And these things MUST be painted properly, we are all constantly having to buy new tires, suspension, steering ends and rims for our vehicles. 5. Buy more transportation for the traffic police. 6. This is Guyana, South America, I have never seen fog here in Georgetown yet we have drivers who are apparently not aware that they are driving with blinding bright FOG lights on, and unless I am mistaken, we have a road regulation here as in most US states, that it is a violation to drive with your high beam or your fog lights on within 500 ft of any oncoming traffic. It used to be that in Georgetown no one was allowed to drive with their high beam lights on.
7. Mini buses, which along with taxis, are also major offenders, must be made to stop ONLY at the designated spots on our new roadways. 7. People who park in the middle of the road and think that it’s OK to put on their hazard lights without their vehicle actually having a mechanical problem, must be charged for obstructing traffic – G$35,000. 8. People boring in the left lane at some important intersections MUST turn left, Vlissingen Road and Homestretch Ave intersections, for example. We’re beginning to build some very impressive roads, but the signs are not at all impressive. 9. Boring anywhere is a moving violation and should be stopped. 10. We must immediately introduce a points system, whereby every offence requires deduction from a 10 points allotment, and after 0 points is reached, drivers must be prevented from driving for 1 year. Second offence 5 years etc. 11. Have a proper series of TV documentaries advising the public on the use of the highway system, no crossing of lanes without signaling, no stopping on highways creating a serious traffic situation etc.
With a private sector which is about half the Caribbean and South America, according to the World Bank reports, prompts one to ask what’s the big rush?? It’s not a big rush Editor, it’s that no one is enforcing the law, so hooliganism is ruling. How bad is the carnage on the Guyana roads compared to other countries in this region? Well [if we take up to the August report and project to December this year] we will have about 24 fatalities per 100,000 population, Barbados is only 6.7 per 100,000, Jamaica 11.8 per 100,000, Trinidad 14.1, we are certainly the worst. Last year, the ratio was about 18 per 100,000 also the worst! Clearly, the more we fix these roads with the present ineffectiveness of our police force, the more these numbers will rise. The current practice of having half a dozen police officers in the middle of the day, a few feet from the nearest police station, stopping people [illegally I think] and obstructing traffic to see their papers, is achieving nothing, this is not policing, this is harassment.
I have spoken on it before, a normal adequate police force requires 400 or 500 police officers per 100,000 persons, since Guyana has 800,000 people we require 3200 police officers. And make sure that the 3200 police officers are doing police work, not secretarial, mechanic, fitness officers, immigration, licensing duties etc. Barbados has 489 officers per 100,000, Trinidad 482 per 100,000, Jamaica 316 per 100,000 population. Of 146 countries reporting, Guyana was not listed as reporting. I am quite sure, however, that we would have a police force number which is close to 200 police officers per 100,000 citizens. Not nearly enough to enforce the law here.
Sincerely,
Tony Vieira
