There are five stages to successful behaviour change. These are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. During the precontemplation stage people have no intention to change or are unaware that they have a problem and that there is a need for change. The contemplation stage is when they become aware and begin to think about change but do not take any serious action. The preparation stage is when plans are made to change. The action stage is when people implement their plans and change their behaviour. Maintenance is the stage where people work to maintain behaviour change.
It is evident that for many Guyanese motorists there is no behaviour change taking place to curb reckless driving. Bullyism and arrogance are deeply rooted in our society. There are people desperate for relevance and many have god complexes. Unfortunately, when some of them get behind the wheels, they do not practice care or caution, they are not courteous or considerate and do not demonstrate that they have common sense. We can deduce that many Guyanese motorists are in the precontemplation stage as they do not believe that they have a problem even though they may witness devastating results for others with the same mindsets.
There should be no country, with a population as small as ours where six people die on the roads in four days. Four of them died within 24 hours. Where are the emergency plans to curb the road carnage? Why are we not out in our thousands on the streets demanding that the roads are safer? It is unfortunate that we seem to have accepted that reckless driving is the norm, and we must continue to witness, be affected or become victims of it.
Six men lost their lives on our roads this week. Of the six, five were young men and one was a senior citizen. On Sunday morning Suresh Singh, 25, was killed when he appeared to have lost control of his car and collided with a truck at Timehri. On Sunday night two young men, Joel Sutherland and Ronaldo Gordon crashed into a bridge at Land of Canaan Public Road and lost their lives. On Sunday also 18-year-old motorcyclist Finidy Miggins lost his life along the West Coast Demerara Road when he collided with a speeding car. On Monday Edwin Hartman, 35, a motorcyclist lost his life on Eversham Public Road Berbice. On Wednesday Vakeanand Sukdeo, 64, was killed when a truck slammed into him at Covent Garden Public Road.
When young men die the society is weakened. Their potential, dreams and aspirations die with them. For those who have children, those children must live with the pain and loss of their fathers. It can affect their self-esteem and quality of life. For those who die before having children, generations are lost because of their deaths.
While there are female drivers who are also reckless on the roads, most reckless drivers are men. Whether it is impatient minibus drivers, thoughtless motorcyclists or private vehicles trying to master the art of flying instead of carefully driving, it is scary on our roads. There should be a national conversation about how men are being raised in this society and how that contributes to the way some of them operate on the roads. Are they lacking role models? Is there an absence of strong fathers? Are they modeling the negative behaviours of elders who were also arrogant and disrespectful and made no efforts to change? What role do drugs and alcohol play? What makes them so careless that they seem not to care whether they live or die or kill other people?
It is not only that six men died this week on our roads, but there were also other accidents. One would imagine that we would be safe from the madness on the roads while sitting in our homes. On Thursday however, a truck crashed into a home at Lusignan. The speeding truck hit a car before it crashed into the house. This is worrying. With the expansions of many roads, the traffic is going to be closer to many people’s homes. If there is no comprehensive approach to encourage behaviour change with how we use our roads, are we to expect that there will be more incidences where vehicles will crash into the homes of people? How are people supposed to feel safe?
On Thursday also, there was an accident along Number 4 Village in Berbice. A driver lost control of their vehicle, and the car flipped. There was also an accident at Delhi Street on Thursday night.
I have listed eight accidents which occurred this week alone and there were more. Sadly, the Guyana Police Force is complicit by their corrupt practices that contribute to the road carnage. It is an open secret that many, if not most Guyanese buy their licenses. It is easily accessible and there seems to be no efforts to curb these actions. The vehicles are increasing on the roads and the number of inexperienced drivers who do not want to go through the licensing process of learning the rules of the road, doing the written and practical tests, is also increasing. Many are eager to get behind the wheel. Yes, it is comforting and convenient to own a vehicle. However, in owning a vehicle one must also be responsible and cautious.
Guyana, we are no longer in the precontemplation stage unaware that we have a problem on our roads. We should have long passed the contemplation stage and been putting plans into action so permanent behaviour change could take place. But in a society where bullyism, arrogance and recklessness are prevalent, behaviour change must start with the family. Guyanese must be taught to have dignity, patience and respect for each other. We must be taught to live honestly as we aim to curb the corruption in this country. Every person who chooses to buy their licence after seeing all the road carnage should feel guilty. A thorough investigation should also be launched into the corrupt practice of the police selling licences. No one should drink and drive. Before we drive above the speed limit, or recklessly, we must think about the value of our lives and others.
Behaviour change for me is trying to not be pessimistic by believing that nothing will change. It is worrisome to think that the road carnage will continue as the number of vehicles increase, roads expand and some of us might not even be safe in our homes.
