For the year so far, 171 people died on the roadways across Guyana and Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Mahendra Singh says speeding and drunk driving are a big cause for concern.
According to information released by the Guyana Police Force on Monday night, there were 138 fatalities from 116 accidents from January 1 to October 8.
There were also 33 deaths resulting from 32 incidents on the roadways. So altogether, 171 people died on the roadways.
A woman died in an accident at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Monday. There hasn’t been an official Police release on the accident as yet but the number of fatalities continues to climb.
The Traffic Chief, in a recent interview with the News Room, said there has been a notable increase in the number of road fatalities this year when compared to last year. According to him, there were 84 fatalities in 2022.
So what has been causing this increase?
Singh explained that inattentiveness while driving, speeding and drunk driving are the “primary causes” of recent road accidents. And these are three areas the Traffic Department is hoping to step up awareness on either by educating members of the public or heightening law enforcement to deter errant driving.
And the Traffic Chief, who was recently appointed to this position, believes some progress is being made. According to them, fewer road fatalities were recorded over the last three weeks.
“I wouldn’t want to attribute this (decrease) to Police work alone.
“I would want to give the drivers the benefit of the doubt to say that maybe the motorists recognise that he/she has a role to play, he/ she is a bit more considerate for other road users, they’re more considerate for their ability to imbibe and remain composed and/or to discharge their role as a motorist to get back to where they came from alive,” the Traffic Chief said.
Those 171 souls will miss Christmas this year and every year thereafter.