Traffic accidents in Cuba: the balance of misfortune
HAVANA, June 19th In the uncertain game of roulette on the road, Cuba loses every year. At the end of May 2023, the National Road Safety Commission revealed the most recent figures. There were more than 3,000 traffic accidents, 243 deaths and more than 2,300 injured “during the first four months of the year.”
The phenomenon in Cuba has maintained figures of over 10,000 accidents per year between 2000 and 2018. Although a moderate reduction was evidenced in the 2019-2022 period, the necessary decrease has not been achieved. Nor is the decrease due to the solution of its main causes either.
2019-2022: What is behind the decrease in accidents?
Between 2019-2022, the country recorded the lowest accident rates of the last two decades. This was recognized at the end of 2022 by Colonel Roberto Rodríguez, head of the specialized road traffic commission of the General Department of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR).
However, a look at the national context (and the impact of the international situation) in each of these years, allows us to recognize what particular circumstances influenced the evolution of the statistics.
On the island, all fuel for transportation is imported. In 2019, Cuba experienced the first major cut in fuel availability in the last decade. The fundamental reason for the crisis was the sharp drop in supply from Venezuela, the main supplier since 2000.
