A week ago, Juan was driving calmly on his way to his family’s house. He was in a hurry, without a higher level of stress. However, he was about to enter a conflictive intersection, between the avenues Mariano Otero and López Mateos sur, in Guadalajara. The traffic light turned green and he drove off slowly to continue on his way, when suddenly another driver, who saw his attempt to pass him on the right frustrated, blew aggressively at him, blaming him for the existence of a piece of sidewalk that prevented him from doing what he did. what did he want. Juan’s indignation at his attitude produced anger and this was a completely irrational action., to stop the car, whistle back and show the other driver the middle finger of his right hand, as if it were necessary to emphasize the imbecile of that other driver. Worse, as if that attitude could have any positive effect. The reality is that Juan was only increasing the possibility of being one of the 16 people who, statistically, die every Saturday in Mexico due to a traffic accident.
The INEGI says that in 2021 there were 86 thousand people involved in traffic accidents in Mexican territory. More than four thousand people lost their lives in them. The most common types of accidents are collision with another vehicle (22.3%), run over (19%), collision with a motorcycle (15.9%), against a physical object (14%) and rollover (12.8%). All other causes add up to the remaining 16%.
By incidence day, Sunday is the leader, with 17.9% of accidents and 22.8% of deaths. Saturday is the second most dangerous day, with 17.1% of cases and 19.5% of deaths. That is, the more relaxed, apparently, the greater the risk of suffering a traffic accident, fatal or not.
The death toll in transit appears to be much more a matter of vigilance, of imposition of authority, than of education of the people. Sure, it’s important that drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists understand their roles, rights, and responsibilities, but without a strong and enforced law, the outcome is not enough.
Greater security and self education
When he crosses the border line driving a car or when, when visiting his neighbor to the north, he rents a car, the Mexican citizen behaves in a much more, let’s say, civilized way than he does here. And it is so because he knows that passing the traffic light there, parking in a prohibited place or walking in the opposite direction will imply a heavy fine that he will not get rid of by putting a couple of hundred pesos in the hands of the officer who is fining him. . He also knows that there is a risk of going to jail, not just paying a fine.
There are studies that recommend actions on the part of the authority, such as improving the quality of communication routes, increasing signaling and surveillance, both in the city and on the highway, although unfortunately we have seen less and less of this. We rarely see arches with speed control radars on the roads in Mexico, something very common in countries with a similar level of development. Another issue that in Mexico we are even more behind is in the protection of pedestrians and we must pay close attention to this.
Tougher laws are also necessary in relation to the mandatory minimum safety in vehicles sold on national soil, which today are limited to ABS brakes and two airbags. We must already be thinking of at least six airbags and stability control, the ESP. One suggestion is that the authority use the same good idea that it had when labeling foods with warnings like “excess sugars” to combat obesity and think of something similar for vehicles, perhaps a warning like: “This car does not contain stability control” or “watch out, vehicle with only two airbags.”
Many brands already have this equipment in all their vehicles, such as Nissan, Toyota or Honda, among othersTherefore, the price increase that jeopardized their competitiveness, something that was previously an argument used by the industry to not put them, is no longer valid.
I have said it before but the fact remains that as long as the authority does not take care of us as it should, it is up to us to inform ourselves to buy better and, preferably, to control ourselves so as not to make the same mistake that Juan made.
