According to the latest report on road traffic deaths by the World Health Organization, Cuba is the only country in Latin America with a traffic fatality figure lower than 10 per 100,000 inhabitants and the Dominican Republic is the worst with 29.3, despite improvements in road safety. The report, WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015, was released in Geneva yesterday, Monday 19 October 2015.
The report states that 1.25 million people die every year in traffic accidents worldwide and another 50 million are injured. In addition, 90% of accidents occur in low and middle-income countries, which include all Latin American countries.
The report states that overall, the traffic mortality rate has stayed roughly the same since 2007 even though the number of vehicles on the roads has increased by 16% and the population has also increased by 4% over the last three years. The reason given is that more countries are taking action to make roads safer. In the last three years, 17 countries have aligned at least one of their laws with best practice on seatbelts, drink-driving, speed, motorcycle helmet or child restraints.
The report covered 180 countries. Of the other countries analyzed, 68 had reduced mortality rates since 2010 and 79 had increased.
The Latin American countries where the rate has increased include Brazil, Bolivia, Cuba, Chile, Uruguay and El Salvador, while Mexico, Peru and Nicaragua decreased, and Argentina and Colombia stayed the same.
The Dominican Republic tops the list at 29.3, followed by Brazil (23.4), Bolivia (23.2), El Salvador (21.1), Paraguay (20.7) and Ecuador (20.1).
They were followed by Guatemala (19), Honduras (17.4), Colombia (16.8), Uruguay (16.6), Nicaragua (15.3), Peru (13.9), Costa Rica (13.9), Argentina (13.6), Chile (12.4), Mexico (12.3) and Panama (10).
In all countries, motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable, accounting for 23% of all road traffic deaths. In many regions this problem is increasing. In the Americas, for example, the proportion of motorcycle deaths out of all road traffic fatalities rose from 15% to 20% between 2010 and 2013. In the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions a third of all road traffic deaths are among motorcyclists. In the Dominican Republic motorcyclists are known to be involved in more than 75% of the cases.
http://www.listindiario.com/las-mundiales/2015/10/19/392764/republica-dominicana-registra-la-tasa-mas-alta-de-muertes-por-accidentes-en-la-region
http://www.who.int/gho/road_safety/mortality/en/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/road-safety-report/en/