Police instructed to intensify measures against rising fatal road accidents – Minister Benn

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has received a strict task to overhaul its traffic strategy to combat the escalating toll of fatal accidents occurring along the nation’s roadways.

Speaking with media operatives on the sidelines of an event on Thursday, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn expressed concern about the growing problem, noting that more must be done to crack down on the reckless road behaviour.

The minister stated that these regular accidents make it impossible for the country to meet its less than 100 deaths target set out for 2023.

“We are concerned about inconsistencies, aberrations in the way people behave. We have been requiring and demanding more to be done in respect of speeding, drunk driving, impaired driving, whether it’s drugs or cellphone use and these things,” Minister Benn noted.

He said statistics have shown that at evening, and from Thursdays to Mondays are the times when most of the road tragedies occur and it is worrying.

“The police are going to give us again; an updated or revised traffic plan and they are going to take stronger action. We expect them to do so,” he stressed.

“A lot of the driving around with loud music playing, with speeding, and all of these things are examples given by adults. And so those are issues we have to work on,” the minister added while urging adults to lead by example.

Currently, the force has an ongoing road safety campaign in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Road Safety Council, dubbed ‘Respect the Road.’