Dear Editor,
My condolences to the grieving families of Suresh Jaman, 39; his wife Indranie Deonarine, 41; and their daughter Amanda Deonarine, 16. The lives of this family were sacrificed in yet another accident (an accident is an event that doesn’t have to happen) on Guyana’s dangerous roadways.
Kenya ranks as the country with the most dangerous roads measured by road deaths (not aggregate deaths but deaths per thousand people); but one wonders whether Guyana is competing for that dubious title.
Let’s see: Under whose portfolio falls responsibility for road safety? Well, it doesn’t matter, whether it’s Minister Rohee or President Ramotar. The principle of collective responsibility means the whole government is responsible. Is the government taking notice that people are dying every day on Guyana’s dangerous roads? Do they have a plan to deal with this problem? If so, where is the plan?
I visited Guyana in the summer of 2009 and again in 2010, and I observed the following:
(1) There are no highways in the whole country; all roads run through villages or towns where people live on both sides of the road. Motorists and taxis stop and go, stop and pick-up/drop-off, but these same vehicles often reach speeds of up to 65 mph.
(2) Sixty-five mph on village roads? Shouldn’t there be a maximum limit of 35-45 mph on village roads, and shouldn’t this rule be strictly enforced by traffic police and the use of radar?
(3) Shouldn’t there be a law requiring all motorists to attend a school for 5 days to do classes on road safety? And the suspension of drivers’ licences for the failure to attend these classes?
If the government does nothing, wouldn’t this problem get worse – more people sacrificing their lives on these dangerous roads?
The number of automobiles has grown a hundred-fold (1000%) since the 1960s, and many motorists often reach highway speeds of 65 mph, but no highways have been built, yet government has not developed programmes of any kind to combat the rising road deaths.
The rise in road deaths is a most urgent, compelling issue crying out for government’s attention.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
