NEW traffic regulations requiring the use of seat belts, radar guns to monitor speeding and a breath-testing mechanism to determine alcohol use by drivers are to be put in place as "fast track" measures to curb carnage on the roads, Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Ronald Gajraj said yesterday.

He said the new regulations are being fine-tuned by his ministry and the Attorney General's Chambers and would form an amendment to the existing traffic laws.

A "parent Act" of new traffic regulations altogether is being drafted from recommendations that came out of recently-held countrywide community consultations.

Gajraj said the new "fast track" traffic regulations are being worked on "expeditiously" to have them in the National Assembly at its next sitting. Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Reepu Daman Persaud said he would not know the date of the sitting until after tomorrow.

Under the proposed safety belt regulations, vehicles manufactured after 1990 are required to have a seat belt for each passenger seat. The passengers, in turn, will be required to wear the belts or face a penalty.

In the case of a first offender, the proposed regulations stipulate a fine of $10,000 or a jail sentence of seven days.

In the case of a second offender and beyond, the fine proposed is $25,000 or a jail term of 14 days.

The proposed regulations hold a driver responsible for ensuring that his passengers under 17 are strapped, while those above that age will have to answer for themselves.

For children under nine years of age, drivers will be required to put in place a child restraint system that is intended to diminish the risk of injury to a child in the event of a collision or abrupt deceleration.

The proposed regulations also stipulate that drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol and not in control of their vehicles will be liable on a summary conviction to a fine of not less than $30,000 or to a jail term of 12 months.

If the regulations go through without amendment by the House, it would mean that such a person will be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for 12 months.

To determine alcohol use, the Police Traffic Department will have to acquire breath-testing equipment to establish if a person has consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion in his breath exceeds the prescribed limit.

If a driver refuses to be tested when a traffic officer suspects him to have been drinking, he can be fined not less than $20,000 or face imprisonment for three months, according to the draft regulation.

The regulations proposed also call for the licence of a reckless driver to be revoked for one year.

Under the radar regulations, the proposal is for those found exceeding the speed limit to be liable to a fine of not less than $2,000 or imprisonment for two months.

The regulations proposed also stipulate that a person who attempts to defeat the use of the traffic radar by using or keeping for use any detecting device while travelling shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine of not less than $4,000 or imprisonment for two months.

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner, Mr. Floyd McDonald said that despite stringent work by the Police Traffic Department, speeding continues to be a major problem and is the main contributory factor to accidents in Guyana.

As of yesterday, the traffic department was reporting six road deaths for the year.

In the latest outcry against carelessness on the roads, residents of Greenwich Park, East Bank Essequibo this week staged protests demanding action against speeding and other factors they blamed for the death of four students on Friday afternoon.

Several others were seriously hurt when the speeding mini-bus they were all in hit another vehicle and spun out of control, spewing passengers through its windows like "pieces of paper" on to the highway and into bushes.

Expressing outrage, villagers Monday night formed a pressure group to press demands for the Police Traffic Department to swiftly address speeding; the process of issuing drivers' licences; loud music on vehicles; touting at parks; overloading; fitness of vehicles; incompetent drivers and untrained conductors and a general breakdown of law and order.

Guyana's current Motor Vehicles and Traffic Act dates back to the 1940's, but has been amended over the years as the need for innovative regulations arose.