Dear Editor,
The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs said it eloquently when he announced that “A responsible government has to take steps, steps that may penalize certain sections of the population, but if that is what is required, what do you want the government to do?” He answered well, and I must commend him for this. I must also add my full support to what the AG was referring to – the wanton loss of life, damage to property and victims where Guyana’s road driving culture is wreaking havoc. Let me quickly state that the AG is all about ‘responsible’ living and by this I refer to driving, but there are other domains as well. I will not enumerate on the unabated road incidents, many of which are fatal. But behind the scenes are financially disabled families, permanently incapacitated victims, and lingering trauma. Thus, time is more than ripe for actions to be taken.
Editor, in no part of the world are there enough law enforcers to ensure that things go the legal way. In many countries, electric monitoring helps, but even so, there is still that vacuum for the erring ones to capitalise. Driving legally, in a safe way, to ensure safety of drivers, and the non-driving public is a necessity, and indeed one way that has helped is ‘upping the ante’ on insurance for those who think that they can get-off “scot free” no matter their driving blunders, even for those who deliberately commit them. Editor, I inform your readers, and they can check it out for themselves, that in many countries, it is a given that rates will typically increase for the drivers when they are in “at fault’ vehicular accidents. The amount a premium comes up to can even be dependent on factors such as age and experience, since younger drivers and those who were recently issued with driving permits pose ‘riskier’ on the roadways, and hence, the pre-emptive move just in case of accidents.
After all, victims must be compensated adequately. Let me spell out to the driving public that auto insurance must cover more than vehicle repair. It also has to cater for injured crash victims’ medical care and lost wages, as well as repairs and/or replacement of vehicles and any property damaged in a crash. So ‘get-real’ time is at hand where ‘animal driving’ is concerned. Now, as I ponder that there will be “Changes to insurance law (that) would drive up premiums,” I think we will see some positive changes in our road culture. It is a global phenomenon and since the ‘far-too-many unnecessary in Guyana’ accidents are “… resulting in damage to property, private and public, as well as fatalities, there have been growing concerns from citizens about the situation and how the government plans to handle it.” I mean it is about time. According to Nandllal, and rightly so, “… if the (current) law is changed, then insurance premiums will have to be increased drastically. Because of the law, it’s at a minimum level where compensation paid out bears no resemblance to the loss people suffer and sustain from these accidents.”
He detailed, and with a promissory warning, that “There is going to come a time where the law in relation to insurance may have to change to allow higher coverage for motor vehicles, so that those injured or properties destroyed, can benefit from higher insurance coverage,” all because “… his government is considerate, (and) they have deliberately (been keeping) the insurance at a specific (low) level.” But this is over, as “… allowing persons to keep on being able to afford insurance, they have seemingly been abusing the privilege. Now, when the law is changed and the coverage increases, then rates will also increase, whether it be minibus or taxi…” Editor, the general non-driving public and those with goodwill in their hearts, I urge you all to ignore those few citizens who are reacting negatively and are beginning to voice their concerns that any good government must “… take steps, steps that may penalize certain sections of the population” if that will facilitate betterment for all.
And we sure need ‘betterment’ on the roadways. Oh how true it is, and as the AG pointed out that “… a person may be driving on the road, carefully and sober “but here’s a vehicle coming at them like a “lethal weapon”. Because of their carelessness, recklessness, or maybe the fact that they’re under the influence, they may cause you to lose a limb, suffer serious injuries, become paralyzed, and perhaps even die. Since that’s what the government is dealing with…” I await the day when drivers will be wary of what they are doing and then reverse psychology will put them on the alert, and not the non-drivers.
Sincerely,
HB Singh
