Home affairs minister urges police to increase ticketing rate

Road safety magazine, GNRSC website launched

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn says traffic officers need to increase the rate of ticketing for errant drivers on the roadways.

The Home Affairs Minister was on Monday evening addressing the launch of ‘The Right Turn’ Road Safety Magazine Volume II and the official website of the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC).

Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn speaking at the launch of ‘The Right Turn Safety Magazine Volume 2

“One of the things that I have noticed recently is that the amount of tickets that the police have been giving out on the roads has fallen behind what was given out last year.  I think that is one thing that we have to pay attention to and our traffic police have to pay attention, to give people tickets on the road and not tell people to go to the station where there’s a lot of wastage of time in the police station, presumably harassment and other things that occur in some of the stations,” the minister stated.

Although Minister Benn acknowledged a decrease in the number of road fatalities in 2021, he said Guyana must continue to work to reduce road fatalities.

He said the ministry is considering outsourcing towing services to private persons to avoid double parking and reduce congestion along the roadways.

“We have to pay attention to the culture that we ourselves as adults pass on to the next generation, the vulgar music, the drinking of Heineken and other things while driving, the texting while driving, the speaking on the phone while driving, these are normal things in the way we operate on the road,” he added.

The minister called on the Guyana Police Force to address the issue of trucks speeding on the roadways, posing danger to road users.

He reiterated the call for all stakeholders to work together to reduce fatalities on the roads, This effort here in terms of bringing out the magazine now is again significant, we have to work at this … we have to get out more information beyond the magazine.”

‘The Right Turn’ Road Safety Magazine Volume II was published by GNRSC in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force to strategically and effectively improve public awareness of road safety.

Chairman of the GNRSC Earl Lambert, Coordinator Ramona Doergen, Deputy Traffic Chief Joseph Jack and members of the diplomatic corps were also present at the launching.

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