As Guyana observes Road Safety Month, a disturbing and deadly trend on our roads demands immediate attention: an increasing number of motorcyclists are deliberately removing their rear-view mirrors, prioritising style and bravado over safety.
It has become increasingly common to see young riders darting through traffic without mirrors, heads constantly snapping backward to check vehicles behind them. What some consider “cleaning up the bike” or achieving a slick social-media aesthetic is, in fact, reckless and deadly — and the consequences are already being felt.
Too many motorcyclists have lost their lives because they simply could not see the danger closing in behind them. Without mirrors, riders often swerve or attempt to turn without warning, colliding with vehicles they never knew were approaching. Others, forced to look over their shoulders repeatedly, drift into traffic or slam into objects right in front of them. A split second is all it takes to turn vanity into tragedy.
Rear-view mirrors are not decorations; they are lifesaving equipment. Their removal is not just foolish; it is also illegal. A motorcycle without mirrors is an unroadworthy vehicle, plain and simple. When a bike like that receives a Certificate of Fitness, serious questions arise about whether it was ever truly examined. If mirrorless motorcycles are being granted fitness certification, that would represent a critical failure in enforcement.
And the numbers reinforce the urgency:
- In 2024, Guyana recorded a 30 % drop in road fatalities compared to 2023, with the death toll falling from 145 to 102)
- Despite that overall drop, fatalities among motorcyclists — while declining by about 15 % (from 48 in 2023 to 41 in 2024) — remain a major issue.
- For 2025, the situation is worsening: motorcyclists account for 43 % of all road-death victims so far.
- Additionally, by June 2025, 58 people had died in road crashes in Guyana — a 17 % increase from the same period in 2024.
- A separate data point: by August 2025, 38 motorcyclists and 7 pillion riders had died on the roads.
How many more funerals must we attend because someone wanted a “cleaner-looking” bike? How many families must suffer because a rider chose appearance over common sense — and authorities failed to intervene?
This is Road Safety Month — the time when our country recommits to safer roads. Yet while we preach safety in public-service announcements and marches, dangerous behaviour is happening openly in plain sight.
Assistant Commissioner and Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh must take decisive action now. Visible enforcement, meaningful penalties, and targeted education campaigns are urgently needed. Checkpoints should verify mirror compliance, and unroadworthy bikes should not be permitted to operate on our roads — period.
This is not about harassing riders. Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road-users, and too many already pay the ultimate price. Protecting them — and their pillion passengers — requires enforcing laws that exist for a reason. Rear-view mirrors save lives. Anyone who doubts that has never sat at a hospital bed praying for a friend who never woke up after a crash.
Road safety is not fashion. It is not entertainment. It is a responsibility. If we truly value life — as we claim during this month of reflection — then allowing this reckless practice to continue unchecked is unacceptable.