Minister Benn – More must be done to reduce road fatalities

The Home Affairs Ministry, in collaboration with the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police
Force and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), on Sunday, held its World Day of
Remembrance Celebration, to honor the lives lost in road accidents over the last few years.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is celebrated on the third Sunday in
November. This year, the NRSC hosted an awareness drive, beginning at Turkeyen and
culminating at the National Stadium, Providence.

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, in his feature address urged drivers to be more
responsible when traversing the roadways. Benn said it is important for other drivers to observe
and report the signs of dangerous driving before it results in road carnage. “The more important
thing is to catch beforehand the warning signs, the indiscretions, the bad behaviour the bad
practices which lead us to points where we have…serious accidents, which result in serious
injury and loss of life,” he said. Benn suggested that the NRC should be given a larger budget to
be able to execute the work of the council more effectively.
The Minister reassured those in attendance about the government’s commitment to curbing the
high incidences of road fatalities in the coming years. Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who
was in attendance, reminded drivers to take special precautions if they know they would be under
the influence of alcohol. He revealed statistics have shown that more than 6,000 people lose their
lives on an annual basis to road accidents, most of which are consequences of drunk driving and
the use of cellular phones while driving. “This is one of the days where we can reflect on all
those persons who have, I would say, senselessly lost their lives because of someone either not
doing the right thing, either speeding, drinking and driving, or in some cases being distracted
because they choose to use their cell phone while driving,” Minister Anthony said.
NRSC Coordinator Ramona Doorgen was quoted as saying that the initiative seeks to bring
awareness to the damage caused to family members who have lost loved ones to dangerous and
drunk driving. “We use this as a public awareness tool…to bring awareness to the public, to say
that it could be me [or] it could be you…and also see the grief that comes out of things like this,
hoping that persons would recognise that road safety is a serious, serious issue,” the NRSC
Coordinator said. She noted that the Decade of Action for Road Safety plan is a United Nations
(UN) initiative which has set the target of reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent
over the next 10 years.