Latin America, Caribbean, road safety concern

There is concern over road safety for Latin America and the Caribbean.
By MJ Woof September 12, 2024 Read time: 1 min
Latin America and the Caribbean nations need to address road safety to cut the annual death toll, with Mexico City being one of the key cities with a particularly poor record for road safety - image courtesy of © Dreamshot| Dreamstime.com

Poor road safety is a major concern for many of the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data from the United Nations shows the scale of the problem. Annual road deaths for Latin America and the Caribbean countries total over 110,000. In addition, more than 5,000,000,000 people suffer injuries arising from road crashes.  

The United Nations introduced a target of halving road deaths between 2020 and 2030. But the Caribbean and Latin American nations have fallen behind schedule in achieving this target. More work is needed to boost road safety, cutting road deaths and injuries.

Driving under the influence (DUI) of drink or drugs and speeding are the key causes of crashes for Latin America and the Caribbean. Distracted driving is another major issue. 

The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) is a registered charity dedicated to preventing the more than 3,500 road deaths that occur every day worldwide. And according data from iRAP, global road death and injuries cost US$3.6 trillion annually, equivalent to more than 3% of global GDP.

Road Markings, Barriers & Workzone Protection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Safer roads needed for the gig economy
    May 14, 2019
    Roads everywhere are becoming high-pressure workplaces for millions of gig economy workers, meaning traffic police need a new way to regulate how highways are used. Geoff Hadwick reports from Manchester, UK The way in which the world’s highways are designed, built and used needs to change fast as the gig economy becomes a global phenomenon. Millions of low-paid and badly-trained freelance drivers are now using road as their workplace, all of them working hard under huge amounts of pressure. The tren
    Read More
  • French highway project disruption
    September 5, 2024
    A major French highway project is facing disruption.
    Read More
  • Addressing a silent disaster
    September 24, 2012
    As India's economy registers 9% annual growth, promising material super-power status by mid-century, the nation is barely beginning to address a silent disaster, that of road casualties It was Dr. P K Sikdar [a director of International Consultants and Technocrats/ICT and a former director of the Central Road Research Institute/CRRI] who coined the phrase "silent disaster."
    Read More
  • Road congress in Finland
    September 13, 2021
    An important road congress in Finland is coming soon.
    Read More

Highlighted Content