Guyanese urged to speak out against errant minibus drivers

…to support on-going efforts to reduce large number of road fatalities

Commuters are being urged to speak out against errant minibus drivers. The call was made by Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson at a Road Safety Education awareness village hosted at the Stabroek Market Square, Georgetown on Wednesday.

At the event to observe the end of Road Safety Month, Minister Ferguson said despite continuous awareness campaigns on road safety, road users, particularly minibus drivers, were still undisciplined when utilising the roads.
“They (minibus drivers) do not observe the rules of the road; they continue to double up the minibuses; they continue to triple up the minibuses. These are things that I observe on a daily basis when using the road, and we have the users of these transportation services that do not speak out; they remain silent,” the Minister was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying.
She opined that remaining silent has contributed to the many road fatalities. She noted that the Government could not afford to lose valuable human resources because of the negligence of others.
Traffic Chief Dion Moore cited statistics which indicate there have been 84 fatal accidents resulting in 95 deaths, against 104 accidents with 114 deaths for the corresponding period in 2016. Moore said that while there was a significant decrease, more road users need to speak out against reckless driving, thereby ensuring less needless deaths.
“If we need our roads to be safe, then we must change our attitude when we use the road. Many times we see other persons doing things that are not in keeping with road safety practices, but what we do? We sit, relax or we go about our journey without saying a word. If we speak out, we can make a difference,” Moore said.
The Traffic Chief revealed that with the Department’s recent receipt of four new vehicles, the presence of traffic officers at nights would be further enhanced. Moore reminded persons to use the five Cs – care, courtesy, caution, consideration and common sense – when using the roadways.
This year’s Road Safety Month theme was “Making roads safer for everyone starts with you. Observe, think, drive, a second is all it takes to save a life.”