With road fatalities increasing by more than 50% in 2023, the Government is looking to further increase the penalties for road traffic violations, as vehicular accidents continue to spiral out of control.

A total of 217 persons lost their lives in motor vehicular accidents and incidents on the country’s roadways last year.

At a press conference on Wednesday, while expressing concern about the steep increase in road deaths, the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, noted that the majority of road deaths were young men.

“There is a particular cohort of young people, men, not women, who are dying on our roads in avoidable situations, the use of a helmet, speeding, how you use the motorbike or even the car. Those persons, at their ages, are the ones, who can give most to our country, in terms of their future endeavors, ambitions and efforts,” the Home Affairs Minister said. 

Based on the stats provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, male fatalities increased by 79.2% in 2023 compared to 2022. In contrast, female fatalities saw an increase of 64.7% during the same period. 

Further, the majority of the victims – 43.4% – were between the ages of 25 and 42. 

Minister Benn said speeding remains the leading cause of road deaths in the country. In 2023, speeding resulted in 128 fatalities, which represents an increase of 110%. 

Given the troubling situation on the country’s roadways, the Home Affairs Minister said the Government will be returning to the National Assembly to further amend the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act to increase the penalties for road violations. 

“We are looking hard at the question of increasing the fines for road traffic violations, speeding and other things. The question of if you will be allowed to go and operate another vehicle, if you are already in an accident with one as a public transport operator and the question of the conductors, and how they move from one to the other, and retraining or rechecking to see if persons are up to speed in terms of how they operate a vehicle,” Minister Benn said. 

The Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act was amended in November 2022. The amendments introduced the offence of motor manslaughter, where a person causes the death of another by driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drug.

The legislation also imposed harsher penalties for the offence of driving under the influence notwithstanding these penalties, there continues to be an increase in road fatalities.

Minister Benn said to further confront the reckless use of the country’s roads, the Guyana Police Force will soon introduce e-ticketing. He said 2023 also saw an increase in the number of traffic tickets being issued due to countless violations. 

“There was a large increase in the number of tickets issued recently and persons charged, we don’t necessarily want to charge more and more people. We want people to modify their behaviour and to do things, which would protect them and protect each other. We don’t want policemen, assaulted, beaten, run over and killed by errant drivers. We don’t want persons run over or getting into accidents without being the cause of it themselves,” he reasoned. 

The Police Force also intends to enhance driver education and training programmes throughout the country to promote road safety. 

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