The Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) has been Guyana’s strongest voice when it comes to raising awareness and promoting safe use of the roadways ever since its establishment, and it is constantly trying to make its campaigns more eye-catching. On Thursday, it launched what is being dubbed as the most eye-catching campaign in collaboration with local business partner Impressions, along with the Public Infrastructure Ministry and the Guyana Police Force’s Traffic Department.
The “Stop the Tears” campaign is geared towards making road users more aware of the suffering the families of road carnage victims undergo. GNRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen told the Sunday Times that they have been looking at different
strategies over the years, which produced some results although they were not as effective as they hope this campaign would be.
“It was Albert Einstein who said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results and for years we have been trying the same thing all the time and this year Impressions, a private partner, came forward and offered to come on board and they came up with the “Stop the Tears” campaign,” she explained.
Doorgen said as a part of the mandate of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, to which GNRSC is a signatory, it is mandated to decrease road deaths by 50 per cent at the end of 2020. She said thus far they have been making strides in that department and with collaborative efforts they can achieve that goal and go beyond to ensure that the roadways are safer to use. 
With Guyana recording 101 road deaths, as of November 15, 2018, Doorgen believes the campaign is timely as it will serve to reinforce the message of proper use of the road.
“We have 101 for the year so far and that is unacceptable and there are deaths that are happening that are needless and people just need to be re-educated and reminded, so that is how the campaign came about,” Doorgen said. The road safety advocate said that it was the hope of the GNRSC that the symbolic teardrop is seen everywhere and would serve to remind road users of the people who are crying. Crying over their loved ones who have lost their lives or are suffering from life-altering injuries owing to irresponsible use of the roadways. She hopes that the teardrop would remind the thousands of road users of the mothers who are crying for their children, children crying for their parents, and all relatives crying for deceased loved ones.
“As an advocate, you don’t only see them cry, but you feel the pain and it is not something nice and if we can stop parents from crying and people from hurting by just reminding them, then it is good. Every time we see the tear drop it is our hope that someone will say we have to slow down because we don’t want to have our mother crying because we have a lot of young people losing their, lives because of drunk driving and everybody tell themselves ‘it can’t happen to me’,” Doorgen noted.
Meanwhile the Guyana Police Force Traffic Department has welcomed the initiative as being timely and is happy to be a part of it. Impressions Advertising Agency would be producing billboards to raise awareness and also there have been a number of bumper stickers created to further fuel the campaign. (Times Sunday Magazine)
