Dear Editor,
It was good to see the President belching out strict measures for road safety and sanctions for errant drivers wreaking havoc on our roads. And he did that during normal hours! Surely too many of our people have died untimely deaths by dangerous driving and reckless use of the roads by folks not always being sensitive to their own safety. Many of our drivers are buying their licences from unscrupulous traffic department officers.
I understand people pay up to $125,000 for a licence delivered to their homes by those folks running that scam. I heard of a bar in Port Mourant where people can go to make arrangements to buy their licences. Scams like that cannot happen unless there is a collusion of folks in the traffic department. The time has come for the Government to consider introducing Drivers Education in schools, as we do in the USA. That can probably fall under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) area of the Ministry of Education, or a specially created unit.
In many states in the USA, all high school students take Drivers Education as a class. They are taught the theory part then the school system has a fleet of Drivers Education instructors who take the students out for the practical road experience in the local school system’s cars. The eligible students are placed on the schedule for the experience of driving on the road. Once they have passed the written and road tests, provisional licences are granted in the initial phase, then later a full licence is granted.
At first, the younger high school children with provisional licences are allowed to drive accompanied by a parent or an adult, then later they can drive by themselves with certain limitations. Some states tie the issuing of a drivers licence to graduation from high school. So by the time students graduate, they have their drivers licences. It should be a requirement that school dropouts go through a class before being issued a licence. Observing the way people drive in Guyana, you know some have not taken a drivers education class or probably never did the road tests.
I thought driving in India was bad with so many people there, but Guyana is probably just as bad or worse. Most drivers have no courtesy, no consideration, and no care. Drivers create lanes where there are no lanes.
They blow their horns at you for nothing you have done wrong. Pedestrian crossings mean nothing to most drivers. But traffic management also needs improvement. There are too many traffic lights in the city that do not work. The lines on the road need to be marked and remarked regularly. That is of high importance, as it gives a sense of orderliness. You would think they use water colours to draw the lines since they last no time, fading quickly. They must use the resin material for marking lines not concrete paint which washes away easily. One-way streets must carry appropriate signage.
Again, the President has to intervene in this traffic crisis, as the appropriate people apparently are not doing a good job. I say fire them up, or fire them! Guyana cannot wait for smart, dynamic, progressive, efficient leadership in all sectors! Shape up or ship out!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
Civil Society Advocate
