GNRSC to launch ‘White Knight’ campaign to tackle road fatalities

GINA, GUYANA, Monday, October 31, 2016

The Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) will launch its ‘White Knight Campaign’ on November 5, as part of efforts to reduce the high road fatality rate.

Coordinator of the GNRSC, Ramona Doorgen speaking to the Government Information Agency at the launch of Road Safety Awareness Month, today at Parliament Square, explained that the campaign will see the setting up of roadblocks where breathalyser tests will be done on all drivers.

“We will be advertising this campaign beforehand, telling persons that we will be having road blocks at these points.   The idea of this campaign is to let people refuse to go and drink that night or reduce the number of persons driving on the roadway drunk,” Doorgen told GINA.

In ‘A’ Division alone, there have been 36 road fatalities for the year. Driving under the influence and speeding are the leading causes of road fatalities across the country.

The White Knight campaign will work in tandem with the Ministry of Public Security, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the private sector to facilitate the road blocks, Doorgen explained.

Doorgen added that the GNRSC will be measuring the effectiveness of the campaign. “We’re going to be measuring to see how many deaths occurred during and after (this period). If there were no deaths, then we will propose to the ministry to continue to have these road blocks,” Doorgen said.

The campaign will be carried out for four nights in November which is designated Road Safety Awareness Month. November is one of the deadliest months for road fatalities, the GNRSC official noted.

Operation Safeway was launched in September by the GPF to address the climbing road fatality rate across the country.

 

By Tiffny Rhodius