When do we say “Enough”?

Aug 19, 2015 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
We learnt lately that the life of another Guyanese, who happens to be the mother of a prominent politician, was killed by a drunk driver. This story has become an all too familiar one for many Guyanese families and the question still remains of what must be done to exorcize the demon of drunk and reckless driving that has plagued this country for far too long?
Surely an astute observer can see that the situation we have today in Guyana, where life is reduced to zero on the roadways, is an amalgamation of years of mismanagement, corruption in the drivers licence system, lack of enforcement towards errant driving behaviour, poor road construction, and non-compliance with traffic and safety laws, along with moral degradation of our society and culture and disregard for human life.
Guyana is now in a fight for her life and some hard questions must now be asked. As an average citizen, I am constantly traumatized by the experience of reckless driving on our streets, particularly by a minority of mini-bus drivers, and who unfortunately paint a bad image for the other law-abiding drivers.
I believe however that this is not only an issue of how to stop people from driving drunk but how can we revamp a dysfunctional and antiquated public transport and transit system, and it starts with serious enforcement actions on drunken driving. It is my firm conviction that we cannot continue to find band-aid solutions to crippling and debilitating issues, it must be addressed holistically.
We certainly DON’T need new laws; what we need is enforcement and boots on the ground, police in cruisers on highways and by-ways “proactively” patrolling and looking for errant and illegal behaviour.
Editor, a driver or passenger without a seatbelt is danger to everyone, not just the drunken driver; the severity of the law must apply for even the smallest infraction. Then and only then can we expect to see results.
As well, I believe this revamp must look at road design and construction, and we must insist that roads be built to international standards. Visitors to these shores must feel safe to travel and have total freedom to do so if we are to attract a high calibre of people for business or tourism.
One of the things I admired about living in the US is the importance placed on their public transport system. They get it. You can get to virtually any part of the US by road and each road is monitored and mapped. It is understood that a road is not just a road, it is a vital part of their economy, critical for the health of their country; it is one of the veins that keep the country as a whole healthy.
We in Guyana find every opportunity to cut costs and corners at the expense of long term goals and vision, corrupt road contractors and officials have made a mockery of the system which is now inundated with pay-offs and bribery-ism and now the elephant has grown too big to put back in the cage, so the average and even prominent Guyanese are now affected.
Editor, I view driving in Guyana now as a hazard to your health and sanity. Unfortunately and with despair I foresee a future where progress is slow and many more lives will be lost before we finally wake up.
At this rate, Guyana could become a country made up of mostly foreign-born citizens and with most of the local populace scampering to leave these shores and the rest affected by high accident and crime rates, the possibility exists – surely a grim and morbid outlook, but one that could be all too real.
The cultural degradation of our nation for decades has also contributed to this problem we see today. Speak to any taxi driver in Georgetown and they will tell you what driving in Georgetown and throughout Guyana is like…and as the saying goes “you reap what you sow”. And so for all decent and civil Guyanese we all must pay until enough is enough.
D. Persaud
Patriot & Son

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