14ymedio, Havana, 2 July 2024 — The massive movement of travelers to beaches and vacation destinations in summer has kept the island’s traffic authorities on edge, who fear that the current economic crisis could influence the accident rate. This was acknowledged on the official Roundtable TV program by Roberto Rodríguez, the head of the Specialized Traffic Body of the Ministry of the Interior, who also admitted that the entity has not been able to “stop the deterioration of the roads and the signage.”
The military officer was pleased that the first half of this year had better indicators than the same period in 2023. According to him, there were 543 fewer accidents – a 13% drop – the number of deaths fell by 23% and the number of injuries by 5%. Likewise, the number of victims between 21 and 35 years old – 35% of those who died in accidents are in this age range – also fell, although Rodríguez did not offer specific figures in this case.
Rodriguez did not elaborate on the cause of the decrease in accidents, although it is possible that reduced vehicle traffic due to a lack of fuel is an important factor.
Among the main infractions, the military officer pointed out that 29% of the drivers involved in accidents did not have a driving license. “5,572 driving licenses have been revoked due to accumulation of points, debts, failure to update medical checks; 3,647 licenses were suspended and 422 were cancelled. For alcohol consumption, 633 licenses were suspended, 58 were cancelled due to repeat offenses and 88 police reports were filed for drunk driving,” he added.
The most notable factors are disrespect for the right of way, not keeping distance, not respecting pedestrian rights and other indisciplines.”
“The most notable factors are disrespect for the right of way, not keeping distance, not respecting pedestrian rights and other indisciplines. In the case of motorcycles and mopeds, their incidence in accidents decreases, however, the lack of attention to vehicle control and disrespect for the right of way are responsible for 59% of the accidents, and for 52% of the deaths and 56% of the injuries,” the list continued.
According to Rodríguez, almost a third of the total number of deaths – which he did not provide – were pedestrians, and the provinces with the highest number of accidents were Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara and Holguín. “Saturdays are when the highest number of victims are reported, especially between three and six in the afternoon,” he explained.
Another aspect mentioned was the repair and purchase of traffic lights, many of which are in poor condition or no longer working, which is not easy for the country, said the military officer. Their price on the international market – between 12,000 and 14,000 dollars – is too high for the state budget, although Rodriguez insisted that the country is “working” to acquire them. The power outages that keep these devices out of service for hours – and that have caused several accidents – were not mentioned in the program.
Despite the “positive” figures, the colonel admitted that the poor condition of the roads, traffic signs and the state and private vehicle fleet are factors that lead to crashes, especially in summer, when people travel en masse for the holidays. However, these factors are not usually taken into account when providing statistics on the causes of crashes, the weight of which falls on drivers. According to Rodriguez, drivers are responsible for 52% of crashes, 75% of deaths and 55% of injuries.
Added to this is the fuel shortage and the inability of transport companies to cope with the number of travellers, which often results in vehicles with excess passengers. To avoid these violations, Teresa Albentosa, secretary of the National Road Safety Commission, explained that a monitoring of transporters is carried out throughout the country, especially private ones, which she considers more likely to be involved in these cases.
Actions include supervising drivers assigned to mass transportation to vacation destinations
The actions include supervising drivers assigned to mass transportation to vacation destinations, regulating the schedules of these trips and taking into account the distance and speed allowed on the road, checking licenses, as well as avoiding assigning drivers who have accumulated fines for dangerous driving or a history of suspended licenses.
“No vehicle is exempt from these provisions, whether they belong to state or private actors or whether they are dedicated to short distance or interprovincial travel,” clarified Albentosa, who explained that priority is also given to repairing signs and roads leading to summer destinations. As for those that remain in poor condition, he added, it is recommended to reduce speeds.
However, the authorities did not mention an important detail, which is that in many cities on the island, private companies transport more than half of the passengers, who must adhere to their prices and travel with overloaded vehicles if the driver deems it necessary.
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