Guyanese pedestrians are the most troublesome – CARICOM Asst. SG

Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 November 2015, 20:55 by GxMedia

Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) trade bloc Dr. Douglas Slater has lamented the unhealthy idiosyncrasies of Guyanese pedestrians as Guyana moved to focus on alleviating road deaths.

Speaking at the launch of Road Safety Month in Guyana, Slater remarked that he has travelled to many Caribbean countries, but the pedestrians are not quite like Guyana’s.

“Guyanese pedestrians are the most troublesome…Guyanese pedestrians do not walk on sidewalks,” said the Assistant Secretary General.

Slater said that the Government should also look to controlling the amount of stray animals on the roadways and errant pedal cyclists. Almost on a daily basis, cows and horses can be seen roaming the streets of Georgetown including near the President’s official residence and his office.

Traffic Chief in Guyana, Dion Moore stated that pedestrians play an important role in promoting road safety and should be cognizant of this fact.

“Pedestrians take precedence over vehicular traffic,” he said.

It was later revealed that an average of 60% of road fatalities see pedestrians as the victims.

President David Granger, meanwhile promulgated a three-point plan focusing on enforcement of the laws, engineering and education to address the issue.

“Our traffic laws must be vigorously enforced. Laws against distracting music, movies and the use of cellular phones while driving should be enforced. Laws against double-parking and diagonal-parking should be enforced. The even-handed enforcement of our traffic laws will help to promote greater safety on our roads,” the President stated.

He noted that another important risk factor is driving under the influence of alcohol which represent a danger to other road users and “rohibiting the sale of intoxicating beverages in or near to public transportation terminals will help.”

Granger noted that drivers, particularly drivers of mini buses, hire cars and taxis must be re-educated, re-trained and re-certified to enable them to qualify to be responsible for driving vehicles with passengers, as opposed to cargoes, on our roads.

“They should not be granted such a license unless they would have proven their suitability for holding responsibility for the lives of passengers,” he noted.