Concern over Latin America’s high road crash rate

Official figures reveal a worrying rate of road crashes within Latin America’s Andean Community of Nations (CAN). The data shows that in 2013, 13,479 people died in vehicle crashes in the CAN group, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. A further 141,175 people were injured in the CAN nations in 2013, while there were 347,018 crashes, an increase of 0.2% over the figures for 2012. Ecuador saw a particularly poor safety record during this period with its number of crashes increasing by 18.1%. The road crash rate in Peru was also a cause of concern, increasing 7.4%. However both Bolivia and Colombia saw increasing road safety, with the crash rate falling by 8.3% and 3.9%, respectively. Poor driving was the main reason listed for crashes, accounting for 43.7% of the total. However speeding accounted for 14.6% of crashes and drink and drug-driving for 6.5%. Other non-specified causes were listed as being the reason for 26.7% of crashes.