Status of Road Safety in the Region of the Americas

In the three years since the last road safety report was issued, the number of road traffic deaths has continued to increase throughout the Americas, reaching 154,997 deaths in 2016 (latest year of available data). However, the death rate from road traffic crashes has remained stable (15.6 per 100,000 population in 2016 as compared to 15.9 per 100,000 population in 2013).

Data presented in this report show that aspects of road safety management, legislation, and post-crash care have improved in some countries. However, the improvements have been modest and it is clear that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.6, to halve road traffic deaths by 2020, will not be achieved...

Since 2014, more countries in the Region have implemented road safety legislation. Two additional countries, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay established laws on drink-driving based on best practice, bringing the total to eight countries. Ecuador implemented legislation on helmet use (resulting in a total of seven countries), Dominican Republic implemented legislation on seat-belts (19 countries in total), while Chile implemented child restraint laws (two countries in total). However, no new speed laws have been enacted in the Region.

Overall, four countries (Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Uruguay) have amended their laws regarding one or more road safety risk factors to bring them in line with best practice. Despite these legislative developments, enforcement remains a major challenge in most countries...