– Road Safety Council urged to help reduce problemWhile road accidents have been responsible for a significant amount of deaths, they represent the number one cause of permanent disabilities.Health Minister,Nike NFL Jerseys China, Dr Leslie Ramsammy made this disclosure yesterday when the Guyana National Road Safety Council held its Annual General Meeting at the Regency Suites, Hadfield Street,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Georgetown.According to the Minister, the victims of road accidents are not just those who die but also those who are disabled sometimes for short periods, or too often,Wholesale Authentic NFL Jerseys, on a permanent basis.He disclosed that last year, although there were more than 200 reported deaths in this regard, the Ministry had recorded 1,400 disabilities which resulted, thus making accidents one of the major factors which can also deplete the workforce.For this reason the Minister said that road safety must be a priority since road deaths now constitute the number nine cause of deaths in the country.Traffic Chief, Neil Semple said that the Road Safety Council has been able to play an integral role in the local traffic arrangement since it works hand-in-hand with the Guyana Police Force Traffic Department which has resulted to some extent in a suppression of road fatalities.According to Semple, the Council came to prominence during a time when there was a large spate of fatalities on the roadway. He noted that even up to a year ago there was evidence of the contribution of the Council, particularly in the month of October last, when 40 road deaths were recorded in the country.“They came to our rescue, I would say, in terms of organising seminars and rallies around the town to highlight the carnage on the road.”And the assistance was well received, Semple said, because last year was in fact one of the worst years with regards to road fatalities.Following a detection that the spate of road fatalities had peaked in October, the Traffic Chief noted that measures were engaged to arrest the problem thus ‘Operation Safe Way’ was engaged to deal with traffic lawlessness on the roadways.“Today the results are showing…At this point in time we have had 66 accidents with 77 deaths…during this same time last year we had a whopping 113 accidents with 133 persons being killed so we are experiencing now a 42 per cent decrease in terms of fatalities and accidents.”But according to Semple,Wholesale China Jerseys, the focus cannot be directed to fatalities alone but also on accidents in general since they can be very costly to the families of survivors.“At present there still seems to be a percentage of traffic lawlessness continuing to prevail in our society and so we have to take some firm action,” he added.As such he disclosed that while enforcement is a must, there is still need to complement the enforcement policies with regards to educating the public, a move he believes requires their assistance.Against this background,Wholesale Jerseys, he pointed out that the Police Force is not only requesting continued support from the Council but is hopeful that other Government agencies, public corporations and entities would come on board in the fight against road accidents.“There have been calls sometime, and I know of policemen in our department who act unprofessionally…That by no means must dampen anyone’s spirit in respect to coming forward and lending support to us because they (policemen) are being dealt with condignly once the matter is reported,” Semple assured.Following the Traffic Officer’s intense deliberations,Wholesale Jerseys, an election to appoint 13 executive members of the Council was engaged. The members were drawn from the Guyana Public Transportation, the Enterprise Road Safety Association, the Georgetown Road Safety Association, the National Communications Network, the Regional Democratic Council of Region Three, the Red Cross Society, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Ministries of Local Government, Public Works, Home Affairs, Education, and Health.In delivering a charge to the elected members, Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy disclosed that this year has been a very significant one in terms of the management of traffic on the roadways.In addition, he noted that several important new laws have been passed, which he hopes will be implemented very shortly.As such, he cautioned the new executive that with new laws and greater urgency to deal with road safety, they are expected to up the ante and to make road safety a major priority through advocacy efforts.