14ymedio, Havana, January 30, 2024 — When reporting the causes of traffic crashes, the Cuban authorities have two big favorites: the violation of the right of way by drivers and lack of attention to the vehicle. In both cases, the driver is always responsible while the poor condition of the roads – denounced again and again by the population – does not even appear among the main causes of crashes and is mentioned as a secondary factor.
“The frequency and dynamics of occurrence of traffic crashes in the country continues to be marked by the irresponsibility of drivers and pedestrians, with the human factor being responsible for 91% of these events,” said the official newspaper Granma in January, which placed the number of accidents in 2023 at 8,556, with 729 deaths and 5,938 people injured.
The overall figure is lower than that of 2022, when the number of crashes was 9,848; however, the number of deaths increased by 24 from one year to the next.
Granma recognizes, although obliquely, the precarious condition of the roads, caused by “the limitations on investments for their improvement”
Granma recognizes, although obliquely, the precarious condition of the roads, caused by “the limitations on investments for their improvement.” The same thing was declared last October by the Minister of Transport on Cuban Television, when he alleged that the roads deteriorate faster than the State is able to repair them. To this is added the limited availability of raw materials and parts for the asphalt factories, which are currently working at a minimum to cope. According to official data from la
