Motorcycle accidents continue to be a major road safety concern in Guyana, with authorities signalling a move toward stricter enforcement backed by camera technology as violations among riders remain alarmingly widespread.
Inspector Lindon Williams of the Traffic Department at the Kitty Police Station raised the alarm during a recent episode of ‘Road Safety and You’, painting a troubling picture of rider behaviour on Guyana’s roads.
“Motorcyclists are riding motorcycles with no helmet, no clothes on, they don’t have licenses and so on,” Williams said, warning that such practices continue to place lives at serious risk.
The statistics bear out the concern. As of March 2, 28 persons had been killed in road accidents, with 12 of those fatalities nearly half involving motorcyclists.
Williams noted that unlicensed riders present a particular enforcement challenge, as the demerit points system cannot be applied to persons who do not hold a driver’s licence.
“So if you are not the holder of a driver’s licence, there is no demerit point to be taken away from your licence and that also is a challenge,” he explained.
Despite the difficulties, Williams said new technological interventions are expected to significantly bolster enforcement capabilities, with cameras and speed detection systems now actively monitoring vehicles by number on a daily basis.
“Now with the new intervention of technology with the cameras and speeding system, which also assist the police in detection of these offences… we have persons monitoring you according to your vehicle number on a daily basis,” he said.
Williams also acknowledged the limitations of policing alone, noting that officers receive daily reports of traffic violations but can only do so much with available resources. He called on members of the public to use available reporting platforms to flag offenders, assuring that reports will be acted upon.
“Every day we receive reports of different offences that persons are committing on the roadway. We also have different platforms where persons can report persons for committing these offences and we will deal with them,” Williams said.
