Dear Editor,
The Guyana Police Force will now focus attention on pedestrians who walk and text, and after arresting them, they will face disciplinary action by the police. This texting-and-walking thing was one of the very top concerns addressed by the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC), the police, and several stakeholder ministries.
To all of these stakeholders, I have to ask what is the statistical backing in relation to accidents caused by pedestrians’ texting and walking? Even in big, busy cities such as Tokyo and London, texting-and-walking accidents are usually very personal – for example, falling or bumping into someone. In Guyana, it can be more dangerous though, as drivers are more wont to drive recklessly and without human concern. However, in my view it is not the texting and walking that cause accidents.
I make a firm call that these stakeholders focus and get control in the areas of speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, undertaking, beating traffic lights, loud music, use of high beams and neon lights, sudden stops and overloading.
As regards continuous education programmes, they never really work. What always does the trick is the presence of police on the road, issuance of tickets, impounding of vehicles and paying of heavy fines. Six days per week, the Traffic Department has a road safety talk, and I am sure a survey will prove that very few people know when and where this safety talk can be accessed.
Yours truly,
Nandkishore Seemangal