Guyana Electrical Consultants & Associates

Just two weeks ago road fatalities for the year were pegged at 136, lower than last year, but concern has been voiced about the number of pedestrians dying.

Acting Home Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira is worried about the significant number of pedestrian deaths that make up the figure. “Pedestrians ought to be the safest category of road users since their lives are in their hands. However, this seems not to be the case when 72 lost their lives last year and 55 so far this year,” the minister noted.

But she did not put the blame entirely on bad drivers, pointing out that the children who are walking to and from school everyday need to be educated about the proper use of the roads.Teixeira made these disclosures in a statement yesterday to mark National Road Safety Week, which runs until Saturday.

In the message she issued an appeal to parents to have them ensure that young children are accompanied on the road. She also expressed the hope that more young people would get involved in road safety programmes bearing in mind their numbers among road fatality victims.

The minister observed that the number of vehicles using the roads contribute to the escalation of accidents.

She said that for the year 6,212 new vehicles have been registered, more than the 5,927 for all of last year.

The latest quota takes the current vehicle number to roughly 122,139 and the minister said this figure coupled with the reckless behaviour of road users contribute daily to the problems on the roadways.

“This increase not only makes heavy demands on our roads but also on the Police Traffic Department. The hire car and minibus culture which has emerged and taken over the public transportation system, calls for constant review and measures to deal with this difficult unfolding situation,” she added.

Teixeira also discussed the non-functioning traffic lights that have become an issue of concern over the years. She said it is a sore issue but assured that efforts are being made by the ministry to correct the situation shortly. But she also highlighted the fact that attempts to fix traffic lights have been thwarted by persons who deliberately vandalise them.

Another issue that she highlighted was the prevalence of animals on the roadways and she urged livestock owners to keep their animals off the roads, especially at night-time.