Rise in road fatalities sparks renewed calls for behavioural change

A troubling rise in road fatalities has reignited national urgency, as government officials, law enforcement, international partners, and civil society gathered for the 2025 National Road Safety Stakeholders Forum, held this morning at the Police Officers’ Mess Annexe in Eve Leary.

The forum, which was held under the theme “Do the Right Thing”, was hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC).

It saw officials recommitting to road safety, as updated statistics revealed a six per cent increase in road deaths so far this year, with 70 lives lost in total.

There has also been a 20 per cent spike in fatal accidents, now totalling 66, while serious, minor, and damage-related accident rates declined. According to the statistics, 166 serious accidents (down seven per cent) were recorded, 235 minor accidents (down four per cent), 428 damage accidents (down three per cent), and two child deaths (a 50 per cent decline).

Speaking at the event, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn stressed the need for society to be more proactive on the issue of road safety, especially since Guyana’s infrastructure is rapidly advancing, noting that this means nothing if there are no behavioural changes.

“The biggest challenge is of course, human–drunk driving, speeding, impaired driving–perhaps by drugs, texting or worse while driving, tinting up the vehicle to the point where you can’t make eye contact with the other persons on the road,” he stressed.

“We have to have a highly motivated activist approach in respect of road safety. We have to put a lot of effort into it. There has to be a cultural change in the way we interact with the police…We must not wait for the statistics to become a name we recognise or a funeral we attend,” he continued.

The event also saw the launch of the Secure Eye mobile application — a real-time, GPS-enabled platform that empowers citizens to report crime, reckless driving, and other safety threats anonymously and directly to law enforcement.

Representatives of the Road Safety Implementation Board (RSIB), including Greg Quinn and Michelle King, outlined seven national project plans currently in development, which include: Deter and Detect, Data-Driven Road Safety, The National Conversation, Road Infrastructure Enhancements, Clinical Response and Trauma Support, Education Campaigns, and Youth and Community Involvement.

International partners, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and PAHO/WHO, also lent their voices to the call for reform.

Lorena Solorzano Salazar of the IDB and Katy Thompson of UNDP emphasised that road safety is not just a transport issue but a public health, development, and social equity issue.

Speaking on behalf of PAHO/WHO, Dr Natasha Sobers-Grannum presented the long-term mental, physical, and economic toll road accidents impose, especially on vulnerable populations.