107 motorcyclists died on the highway in the first half of 2017 without any safety vest, which is equivalent to 44.5% of the total deaths recorded in traffic accidents in that period. According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), between January 1 and June 30 there were 240 deaths in road mishaps, an average of 40 per month.
For the Traffic Police, the education and good sense of the drivers is vital to diminish those figures. "We cannot do more than what is humanly possible, such as sanctioning, advising, and educating through media campaigns. The other part of the equation corresponds to each person, to their own love and common sense," said Sonia Monger, deputy director of that body police.
The official added that, in the case of motorcyclists, it is vital that the helmet and reflective devices are on, as well as that they respect the speed limits.
In six months, the Transit fined 2,432 drivers of those vehicles for driving without a helmet, 1,429 because the companions did not carry that safety device and 2,888 for not wearing clothes or a reflective vest.
The number of deaths on motorcycles during the first six months of this year exceeds the statistics recorded in the same period of 2016, when the authorities accounted for 97 deaths. The projection of the Traffic Police is to close 2017 with 480 deaths in traffic accidents, 32 more than in the entire last year, when there were 448.
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Traffic accidents left 448 deaths in 2016
"With an average of 40 deaths per month in the first semester of 2017, one might think that at the end of the year we could have 480 deaths, but the work of the Traffic Police will be clearly focused on lowering the figures as much as possible," said Monger. The main cause of fatal accidents on the road is speed abuse, with 69 fatalities, followed by the imprudence of drivers; many of them not wear the high visibility vest, with 51.
