Suriname’s Road Safety Institute (VVI) has sounded the alarm over a persistent, alarming rise in traffic accidents across the country, launching an annual national Road Safety Month on August 15 with a slate of new enforcement measures and public awareness initiatives designed to reverse dangerous trends on the nation’s roads.
The campaign kicked off with an awareness walk through key streets of the capital city, Paramaribo, bringing together safety advocates, government officials and community members to highlight the growing risks facing road users. Under the local slogan “No du gek tap a wegdek,” which translates to “Do not recklessly hit the road,” VVI is calling on all drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians to adopt cautious, responsible behavior every time they use public roads.
Joanne Kasno-Adraai, director of the VVI, opened the campaign by emphasizing the deep seriousness of the country’s road safety crisis. She singled out two particularly troubling categories of incidents that have contributed to rising injury and death tolls: single-vehicle crashes, in which vehicles veer off roads, collide with fixed objects or roll over, and severe collisions that disproportionately involve moped and motorcycle riders. Kasno-Adraai outlined the core human behaviors driving most of these preventable incidents: excessive speeding, reckless driving, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, distracted driving and routine disregard for established traffic laws.
To encourage safer habits, Kasno-Adraai urged all road users to take a moment for reflection before setting out on any journey, but stressed that personal responsibility remains the foundation of any effective safety effort, and reflection alone cannot replace following traffic rules.
Harish Monorath, Suriname’s Minister of Justice and Security, officially inaugurated the 2026 Road Safety Month, announcing concrete policy changes to crack down on repeat offenders and dangerous behavior. Moving forward, national police will significantly intensify routine traffic checkpoints and patrols across high-risk areas of the country, and fines for the most common dangerous traffic violations will see a sharp increase to act as a stronger deterrent.
Beyond increased enforcement, the month-long campaign includes a wide range of community-focused and educational events to embed safety habits across all age groups. Planned activities include a creative Play-in-Paint art event to engage young people, a short bicycle tour for youth in the Paramaribo neighborhood of Latour, and a public legal lecture on road safety and traffic law led by Judge Karamat Ali. In a long-term educational milestone, 150 creche and preschool lead teachers will receive their certification this month after completing a specialized training course on early childhood road safety education, equipping them to teach safe habits to children from a young age.
In closing, VVI leadership emphasized that road safety cannot be the responsibility of enforcement agencies alone: it requires collective commitment from every person who uses Suriname’s roads. The organization renewed its call for all road users to respect traffic laws, remain attentive and cautious while traveling, and take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of everyone around them.