The thirteenth edition of Road Safety Month was concluded yesterday after one month at the Lalarookhgebouw. As of today, the tally stood at eleven road fatalities. Road Safety Month was proclaimed on August 15, as customary, and lasted one month.
The Verkeersveiligheidsinstituut (VVI, Traffic Safety Institute) and the Ministry of Justice and Security made additional efforts this year to raise awareness among the community. Justice Minister Harish Monorath, for instance, asked road users on various platforms to comply with the rules and take others into consideration.
Joanne Adraai, VVI director, says she is proud of the efforts made during Road Safety Month. On the other hand, she regrets the high number of traffic accidents and road fatalities registered in the space of one month. She states that people are quite disobedient and indicates that the police should not actually have to intervene if every individual properly observes his or her responsibility. “It concerns everyone’s safety. The moment you are on the public road, you should not fool around with safety.”
Monorath calls the situation worrying. According to him, 74 road fatalities were registered from January through September 15. Most of the victims were under the age of 40, with more men than women having died. The minister says that both the government and society must make efforts to reduce the number of traffic accidents by more than 50 percent by 2030. Suriname also aims to align with the United Nations’ road safety targets.
