El Caribe newspaper editorial staff wrote that it is especially sad that at the joyous time of Christmas, there is so much sadness caused by traffic fatalities.
A tragic accident on the Duarte Highway took the lives of four persons and left several other badly injured. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the death rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the Dominican Republic is the highest in the world at 64.6. The second highest number is 41 in Zimbabwe.
This very sad reality is amplified when the analysis shows that 60% of the victims are young men between the ages of 15 and 34. Even worse, the real toll is quite higher, since those persons taken to the various hospitals and trauma centers and who do not make it are not counted among the accident deaths, and reports says that 60% of these victims do not survive.
The El Caribe editorial says that harsher punishments and stricter controls are much needed, and they even suggest a training course for those who ride motorcycles (the majority of the fatalities).
This Christmas season drive safely, and remember that many of those persons on the roads, highways may have had a drink before taking the wheel.
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El Caribe
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
19 December 2022