Ecuador’s worryingly high fatal crash rate

Ecuador’s shocking high road fatality rate is giving cause for concern. Official statistics compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that Ecuador is second only to Venezuela in Latin America with regard to fatalities on the road network. The WHO figures show that Ecuador has an average of 28 deaths/100,000 inhabitants from road crashes, well above the global average of 18 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. Only Venezuela’s even more startling figure of 37 deaths/100,000 inhabitants is higher in Lati
June 21, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Ecuador’s shocking high road fatality rate is giving cause for concern. Official statistics compiled by the 3263 World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that Ecuador is second only to Venezuela in Latin America with regard to fatalities on the road network. The WHO figures show that Ecuador has an average of 28 deaths/100,000 inhabitants from road crashes, well above the global average of 18 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. Only Venezuela’s even more startling figure of 37 deaths/100,000 inhabitants is higher in Latin America. The report is based on 2010 data however and Justicia Vial, believes that the figure would be 32.4 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in Ecuador and 23 deaths/100,000 inhabitants as the average for Latin America if more recent statistics were used. Injuries from road traffic crashes are the main cause of death for children aged 5-14 and the second highest cause of death for people aged from 15-44. Ecuador's National Transit Agency (ANT) has also revealed that 50.09% of accidents could be attributed to either inexperience or careless driving. A further 13.2% are caused by a disregard for regulations, 12.31% by excessive speed, 9.73% by drinking, 7.69% by external conditions and 6.99% by the carelessness of others. The toll is particularly heavy on pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists and the latest information shows that the risk is by no means abating, with 308 people killed in road traffic crashes between January and February 2013. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Alcohol consumption car crash cause
    December 15, 2014
    A new report from insurance firm Allianz highlights the appalling risks to road users resulting from drink driving. "On a global level, every 10th fatal accident can be traced back to alcohol. Men are more likely to expose themselves to this danger, risking their lives with it," according to Christoph Lauterwasser, Head of the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) in Munich. The fatality rates from road traffic crashes that have resulted from alcohol use have been investigated by the World Health Organisatio
    Read More
  • UK Government must show “much greater leadership” on road safety
    August 20, 2012
    A leading road safety campaigner has urged the UK government to show “much greater leadership” on the issue after new Department for Transport (DfT) figures revealed a rise in pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) on UK roads between April 1 and June 30, 2012 rose 13% to 700, compared to 621 over the same three months of 2011.
    Read More
  • Risk warnings for UK revealed with new data
    May 9, 2013
    New data from the UK reveals key information about road risk factors both across the country and in capital London. A new report reveals that around 68% of pedestrian casualties are adults who are at greatest risk on weekend evenings and after consuming alcohol. Meanwhile another separate study in London reveals that cyclists are not at fault in most crashes in which they are involved.
    Read More
  • France sees increase in road crashes
    May 20, 2016
    France has seen an increase in its road fatality rate during 2015. Official figures show that road casualties again increased during 2015, the second consecutive year that this has occurred. Road deaths increased by 2.3% over the figure for 2014 and reached 3,461 in 2015. This increased fatality rate is of note as for the 12 years previous to 2014, France’s road death rate had reduced.
    Read More

Highlighted Content