Dear Editor,
Stabroek News of Thursday November 21, 2019, page 23, reported that Traffic Chief Isles made “the Traffic Department’s Christmas Policing Plan Presentation”.
The reader must have missed the plan, amongst all the statistics about accidents (fatal or otherwise)
So we look forward to Stabroek News to solicit the plan for publication so that commuters, whether mobile or pedestrian, would know and comply
Having reported the deaths more or less by Regions, we would expect that the plan would take account of the specific areas of accidents – a geographic plan so to speak
But why should it be just a Christmas plan, as if it were a gift to the living? Why is there not a strategic plan that would aim at deliberately reducing the number of deaths year round?
In any case, why is it felt that the Traffic Department is the only agency that has the capacity for the development of much needed Strategic Traffic Plan. Contributing to accidents are such basic issues as:
Engineering of roadways
Width of roadways
Lighting
Signage (lack of)
Poor parking areas
Speed
Timing of vehicle flows
General driver behaviour
Obstacles on the road
Specific training of drivers of commercial vehicles (taxis, ambulances, lorries, heavy transport vehicles)
Periodic (annual) testing of the above drivers competence (including the age factor)
Examination of vehicles involved in accidents for mechanical defects (including tyres)
Licence checks
But the Strategic Plan should involve the collaboration of the following entities:
Ministry of Public Security
Ministry of Public Infrastructure
Guyana Revenue Authority
Ministry of Legal Affairs
The Motor Insurance Fraternity
The Bar Association
Companies who utilise oversized transport vehicles.
Once again, it has to be emphasised that insufficient attention is paid to the disabled survivor of accidents and their ensuing economic and health welfare. In this regard there is room for medical representation on the above-mentioned team.
The decision–makers must hasten to consider that the next siren they hear may be that of an ambulance for a close relative.
Postscript Since the days of the late President Burnham consideration was given to constructing an alternative access road from Golden Grove on the East Coast Demerara across the backlands of Enmore Estate and Diamond Estate on the East Bank, to Mocha onto the highway to the International Airport.
Had that dream been realised, chances are that there would not have been the nightmare which needed the ‘Official’ post mortem into the recent deaths of five innocents.
Yours faithfully,
E. B. John
