Govt’s road safety march, motorcade draws large crowd

A section of the road march

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Guyana National Road Safety Council, hosted a Road Safety Public Education Awareness Motorcade on Sunday, in observance of Road Safety Month and the United Nations World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

The motorcade commenced at the Kitty Roundabout, proceeded west along Carifesta Avenue, through Young Street, and concluded at the Bandstand and Seawall Esplanade.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, during his address to participants, highlighted the critical issues affecting road safety and the government’s strategies to reduce road accidents.

Minister Benn underscored the importance of enhanced monitoring systems under the Safe City and Safe Country initiative, noting “Cameras are being installed and soon there will be facial recognition of miscreants on the road, and they will be caught.”

The initiative will see the entire nation being connected to closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

He also urged all road users to exercise greater caution, revealing that Guyana ranks 78th globally in road safety, with a traffic death rate of 17 per 100,000 persons.

The minister stressed the need for improved road infrastructure and legal reforms to support victims and enforce stricter sentencing guidelines.

“We now have to ask the question…what improvements we need to make in respect of sentencing guidelines and what changes we have to make in the legal system?” the minister questioned.

Meanwhile, the event attracted diverse participants, including members of the Guyana Police Force, Seventh-day Adventist youth groups, and other stakeholders.

Road Safety Month 2024 is observed under the theme “Do the right thing!”

The Ministry of Home Affairs also distributed road safety magazines as part of their efforts to raise awareness of road safety.

Car bumper stickers with the slogan “Do the right thing”, and a caution to drivers to desist from using cellphones while driving were also distributed to all attendees.