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

  • Controversial £2 billion Stonehenge bypass project halted
    July 30, 2024
    The UK's controversial £2 billion Stonehenge bypass project has been halted, prompting relief amongst environmentalists and historians who opposed the construction work.
    Read More
  • East African authorities trying to cut spiraling road death rates
    December 10, 2013
    Road fatality rates are rising in East Africa, despite attempts to stem the tide – Shem Oirere writes When a passenger bus in Kenya killed 42 people on August 29th 2013, it coincided with the release of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that painted a grim picture of the status of road safety in East Africa. The accident at Ntulele shopping centre along the Nairobi-Narok highway, 90km from capital Nairobi, occurred when the bus heading to western Kenya lost control and crashed. The driver is said to
    Read More
  • Safer Roads by Design comes to Costa Rica
    November 14, 2012
    IRF’s itinerant cycle of training seminars aimed at helping countries eliminate needless deaths and meet their commitments to the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety made a notable stop in San Jose, Costa Rica on September 12-14. Safer Roads by Design - Costa Rica was hosted by the National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models of the University of Costa Rica (Lanamme UCR), the country’s leading knowledge centre on road engineering, with additional support from the Inter-American Development Bank an
    Read More
  • Cameroon highway construction project underway
    August 31, 2021
    Work is now well underway on a key highway project in Cameroon.
    Read More

Highlighted Content