Laws being amended to permit e-tickets for traffic violations

In an effort to curb the high number of traffic accidents and fatalities on Guyana’s roadways, the government through the Ministry of Legal Affairs in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is working aggressively to fully implement an e-ticketing system.

The new strategy will replace the manual ticket system using blank paper/paper tickets, where the offending driver will be recorded through the application. It is expected to encourage drivers to follow traffic laws, promote greater discipline on the roads and lower the number of accidents caused by dangerous driving.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, Tuesday evening said the laws will be amended to insert the usage of an e-ticketing system in the country, signalling the government’s commitment to making roadways safer.

“Many other countries in the Caribbean have gone in this direction and we are moving swiftly there. We are not doing this because we want to punish people. We are doing this to protect lives, to make the roads safer for all of us and for our future generations,” the AG expressed, during his televised programme ‘Issues in the News.’

The system will see closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras being used to flag any traffic offenders and automatically issue email traffic tickets to the driver based on customisable parameters.

Minister Nandlall reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening Guyana’s laws, increasing fines, and creating heftier penalties for offenders to address the high incidents of traffic accidents and fatalities. However, for the system to work, it requires a cultural change.

“A large part of it has to do with the users of the road. The mentality must change … It requires an attitudinal change and that must come from the people, the users of the road,” he emphasised.

Additionally, the minister commended the GPF for launching its national road safety campaign ‘Respect the Road’, which is geared towards educating the public on regulations relating to road use and addressing the 30 per cent increase in traffic fatalities for this year.

The campaign is being rolled out in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC), and Impressions Inc.

Government has passed several amendments to legislation in the National Assembly, which are intended to address the road carnage.

These include the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022.