AG’s Chambers says bar owners not doing enough to curb drunken driving

The Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs yesterday reminded the public, as well as bar owners and operators, of the provisions of the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Act 2022 which is aimed at the prevention of drinking and driving and similar types of misbehaviour.

The principal objectives of the Amendment Act, it explained, are to, among other things, create a mechanism for licence holders to be more accountable by imposing obligations that require them to play a more active role in the prevention of drinking and driving.

According to the release, the Government of Guyana continues “to be concerned with the senseless deaths on our roadways which, many times, are attributable to drunken driving.” Mindful of this reality, and in an effort to combat the devastating effects which are caused by drunken driving, it noted that amendments to several pieces of legislation, including the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act were enacted and pressed into operation in 2022.

It also noted that based upon reports and complaints received, that licence holders, particularly bar owners, have not been in compliance with their obligations imposed under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Act. In response the ministry is appealing to such bar owners to play their part in the promotion of the public good and the preservation of a safe society, free from drunken driving. It also cautioned that bar owners who are not in compliance with their obligations under the Amendment Act, will be charged and prosecuted.

A few important sections of the Amendment Act have been summarized below:

Section 4: inserts a new section ‘54A’ into the Principal Act. This new section imposes a duty upon license owners or their servants to verify the age of a person before employing such person, selling any intoxicating liquor to them, or allowing them into any bar on the licensed premises.

Section 5: amends section 54 of the Principal Act. It expands licence holders’ existing obligations not to permit drunkenness on the licensed premises and creates new obligations which require the licence holder to discourage