…as Road Safety Council plans for Road Safety MonthAs the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) eyes a 50 percent reduction in road fatalities by 2020, education and awareness is being seen as priority areas in achieving this goal.This is according to Ramona Doorgen of the GNRSC who was part of a team that revealed the council’s plans for Road Safety Month.And even though there has been a reduction in the number of fatal accidents recorded by the police up to August month-end, Doorgen believes that even a single death is one too many.According to statistics coming out of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), there was a 20 percent reduction in road fatalities from January 1 to August 31, 2015 when compared to the same period last year. At the end of August, the police said that there were 66 fatal accidents which claimed 80 lives. For 2014, there were 82 fatal accidents which claimed 89 lives.“Addressing attitudes when it comes to road use is the main problem,” said Doorgen. She stressed that road users, whether they were drivers or pedestrians, needed to understand how to properly use the road. She indicated that the council was eyeing a 50 percent reduction in road accidents by year 2020 but attaining this goal will not be easy, Doorgen said.Additionally,Authentic Jerseys From China, Doorgen noted that the concerns were not only to reduce road deaths but to also reduce all accidents. She pointed out even injuries can have long-lasting consequences.“Injuries can lead to pressures on home life and the public healthcare system. You may be in an accident and not die but be injured for years,” Doorgen said.She further emphasised, “We need the people to work with us; the police can’t do it alone, the council can’t do it alone, the insurance companies can’t do it alone. Each and every single one of us has to take up the responsibility.”Education has long been cited as an approach to tackling Guyana’s high road fatalities.Road safety monthIncreasing awareness will also be an important component when the GNRSC embarks upon its plans for Road Safety Month. Though plans are still underway and dates are yet to be finalised, Doorgen indicated that the activities will include a school safety patrol rally, a drivers’ seminar, first aid programmes, and a safety awareness walk.The entire month will kick off in the first week of November with a launch. Special focus will also be placed on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which will be held on November 15.Doorgen shared that all of the activities will not occur solely in Georgetown. Rather, the GNRSC is working in conjunction with other road safety organisations, including those on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and the West Coast of Demerara, to ensure that its message is echoed throughout the nation. These two associations, which are new, will also be holding road safety school patrols.“We’re hoping that other associations will be having their own rallies,” she added.She further indicated that the WCD Association in particular has a number of plans set out for the month. Formed on September 16, the association works closely with the WCD Police Traffic Department. An association for the Essequibo Coast is in the works. The theme for Road Safety Month will be released shortly.
