Trucks blamed for almost half of road deaths in recent years, speed governors coming soon

Heavy-duty trucks have been responsible for nearly 40% of all road fatalities over the past five years, a troubling pattern that has pushed authorities toward the introduction of mandatory speed governors on these vehicles.

Chairman of the Guyana National Road Safety Council, Earl Lambert, raised the alarm during a recent episode of ‘Road Safety and You’, where he revealed that from 2019 to 2024, trucks consistently accounted for 38 to 40% of deadly crashes, outpacing all other vehicle categories.

In 2023 alone, 30 truck accidents were recorded, followed by 25 in 2024, many of which involved head-on collisions and severe intersection impacts linked to excessive speeding along major corridors, including the East Bank Demerara and East Coast Demerara highways.

Lambert said these statistics highlight a national road-safety crisis, driven by a clear correlation between speeding, poor road conditions, and fatal outcomes.

He explained that the government’s push to implement an Auto Control Speed Management System, a mandatory speed-regulating device for trucks, is rooted in the urgent need to curb this deadly trend and address longstanding gaps in traffic enforcement.

The Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs are leading the initiative, which is currently in the consultative stage.

The system’s core component is a tamper-resistant speed governor designed to automatically regulate truck speeds within the limits set out in the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act: 50 km/h in urban zones and 80–100 km/h on rural and highway roads, depending on road capacity.

Featuring GPS monitoring, geo-fencing, real-time data transmission and instant alerts when tampering is detected, the device provides continuous oversight of truck movements and speed patterns.

Lambert said this technology-driven approach offers a transformative shift toward digitised, data-driven enforcement, eliminating subjective policing and ensuring full traceability of vehicle activity.

He described the impending rollout as a bold but necessary step to safeguard citizens and modernize road governance.

With truck-related crashes ranking among the top causes of road deaths and heavy-duty vehicles consistently representing nearly 40% of fatal accidents, Lambert emphasised that the introduction of speed governors is not just a policy choice but a lifesaving imperative.