The National Road Safety Council says there has been a decrease in road accidents and deaths this year so far when compared to last year.
In 2018, 85 road accidents were recorded along 98 road deaths, three children included. For this year so far, a total of 80 road accidents were recorded with 91 road deaths, including six children.
In observance of road safety month, the council on Tuesday announced its partnership with a number of stakeholders for its Remembrance Day campaign at Guyana Motor Racing Sports Club in Georgetown.
The Council has teamed up with the Guyana Police Force Traffic Department, the Guyana Motor Racing Sports Club, the Mothers in Black Foundation, Kronoco Driving School, Clarke’s Production and other Stakeholders to remember victims from road accidents.
Ramona Doorgen, Coordinator for the Council said instead of an awareness walk this year, the Council will be branding an international motor racing event, Clash of Champions at the South Dakota Circuit on November 17.
This is the same day that Guyana will join with the world in observing the United Nations annual day of remembrance for road accident victims.
“This year remembering that Albert Einstein is the one who had said ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’; we have done the awareness walk for almost eight years, so today we have decided to let us try something else and bring the road safety awareness to a new fraternity, which is the Guyana Motor Racing fraternity,” Doorgen said.
Doorgen said everyone at the race will wear something orange; there will also be educational booths and a convincer machine that will allow persons to experience the different speed limits.
Most of the partners in the Remembrance Day campaign have lost loves or know someone who did.
Cheryl Gonsalves, a representative from the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club lost her husband to a road accident eight years ago, while Special Superintendent at the Special Constabulary Owen Nathaniel Trotz also lost his son to a road accident.
Meanwhile, founder for Mothers in Black, Denise Dias who lost her daughter in a road accident said the theme for Remembrance Day this year – ‘Life is not car part’ – is suitable.
“I lost my daughter on our roads, so for over 20 years now, we have been doing various events with various organisations. We are extremely happy that we can take this event further, if we can get at least a few hundred people that will be at the event to just take care, to be safe on our roads…mostly young people are the ones we use and we hope that our message will be relayed,” Dias said.
A week of activities has been planned for the National Road Safety Week which is being observed from November 24 to 30, under the theme, ‘Accident can be deadly, drive defensive, stay alive’.
