Skip to main content

Concern over Latin America’s high road crash rate

Official figures reveal a worrying rate of road crashes within Latin America’s Andean Community of Nations (CAN). The data shows that in 2013, 13,479 people died in vehicle crashes in the CAN group, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. A further 141,175 people were injured in the CAN nations in 2013, while there were 347,018 crashes, an increase of 0.2% over the figures for 2012. Ecuador saw a particularly poor safety record during this period with its number of crashes increasing by 18.1%. T
September 8, 2014 Read time: 1 min

Official figures reveal a worrying rate of road crashes within Latin America’s Andean Community of Nations (CAN). The data shows that in 2013, 13,479 people died in vehicle crashes in the CAN group, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. A further 141,175 people were injured in the CAN nations in 2013, while there were 347,018 crashes, an increase of 0.2% over the figures for 2012. Ecuador saw a particularly poor safety record during this period with its number of crashes increasing by 18.1%. The road crash rate in Peru was also a cause of concern, increasing 7.4%. However both Bolivia and Colombia saw increasing road safety, with the crash rate falling by 8.3% and 3.9%, respectively. Poor driving was the main reason listed for crashes, accounting for 43.7% of the total. However speeding accounted for 14.6% of crashes and drink and drug-driving for 6.5%. Other non-specified causes were listed as being the reason for 26.7% of crashes.

Related Content

  • Concern at Cambodia’s high road death rate
    January 4, 2017
    Concern is being expressed in Cambodia at its high road death rate. Official data from the National Police reveals that there were 1,717 people reported killed in crashes in Cambodia during 2016. January 2016 saw the greatest number of fatal incidents, while there were also 6,607 people seriously injured in road crashes throughout the year. Key factors in causing crashes include drink driving, speeding, breaking road traffic laws and being excessively tired while driving. The highest numbers of people being
  • Road safety gain for UK in 2013
    June 26, 2014
    The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) reveals that the road fatality rate for 2013 was the lowest since records began in 1926. The data shows that 1,713 people died on the UK’s road network in 2013, around half that of the figure recorded for the year 2000. This reveals an on-going improvement in road safety levels. The DfT statistics show that in 2013, 21,657 people were seriously injured in road crashes, while the total number of casualties of all severities stood at 183,670. Car occupant fatalities in
  • Concerns over increased US road fatality rate in 2012
    November 25, 2013
    Data from the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that highway deaths increased to 33,561 in 2012, an increase of 1,082 over the figures for 2011.The official Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data reveals that the majority of the increase in deaths, some 72%, occurred in the first quarter of 2012. Most of those involved were motorcyclists and pedestrians. This newly released data marks the first increase in road related fatalities in the US
  • US road safety remains a cause for concern
    August 9, 2021
    US road safety remains a cause for concern with an increase in casualties.