Strict enforcement of the drivers’ demerit point system could promote safer road usage by suspending the licences of more errant drivers, Chairman of the Guyana National Road Safety Council Earl Lambert said.
Speaking at the recent Guyana National Road Safety Stakeholders Consultation, Lambert said 2014 legislation establishing the demerit point system must be adequately applied to keep reckless drivers off the country’s roadways.
“Twelve years now and that law is not being enforced as yet, so you have people breaking the law,” he said.
Chair of the Private Sector Commission’s Governance and Security sub-committee, Captain Leary Barclay, told the consultation that continuous driver education may also help address road fatalities, citing the complexity of expanding road networks and rising numbers of new drivers.
“Continuing driver education… needs to be looked at because it is an evolving situation. Drivers are not understanding that it (driving) is a risk management exercise and they have a very rudimentary understanding of the physics of the vehicle they are operating,” he said.
Stakeholders also discussed the use of dummy cameras, smart detection systems and mental health issues during the consultation.
