The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.
By Delmer Dueck: The recent spike in road traffic accidents and related fatalities across Belize has prompted a predictable chorus of calls for more driver education, stricter laws, and increased enforcement. While well-intentioned, these proposals fundamentally miss the point. They are attempts to treat the symptoms of a problem while ignoring the disease itself. The primary cause of our rising accident rate is not a sudden decline in driving skill or a newfound disregard for the law; it is our outdated and inadequate highway infrastructure.
Our national highway system, a simple two-lane road, was designed for the traffic volumes of 15 years ago. Today, it is dangerously overwhelmed. It forces a hazardous mix of vehicles—all with vastly different capabilities—to compete for space in a single lane.
Consider the daily reality on our highways:
Semi-trucks, the backbone of our commerce, travel at speeds between 35-40 mph.
Older, less roadworthy vehicles, owned by those with limited economic means, cannot safely maintain highway speeds.
Small motorcycles and scooters are legally on a highway where the flow of traffic is often double their maximum speed.
These vehicles are not the problem; they have a right to use the road. The problem is a road system that provides no way to accommodate them without creating extreme risks. This leads directly to the formation of long, slow-moving convoys, which are the true catalyst for accidents.
The dynamic is simple and deadly. A driver traveling at a reasonable pace comes upon a semi-truck or other slow vehicle. They are now forced to travel at half the intended speed of the highway. Behind them, more cars begin to accumulate. The driver directly behind the truck may be hesitant to overtake, either due to caution or simply being in no rush.
Now the third driver, who needs to get to a job or make a flight, is faced with a choice: either resign themselves to a crawl that will make them late, or attempt a far more dangerous maneuver of passing two or more vehicles at once. As the convoy grows, reaching lengths of 20 or 30 cars, the pressure intensifies. Overtaking a convoy of this size becomes an act of extreme aggression and risk.
This is the critical point: the system is forcing otherwise cautious and skilled drivers into making dangerous decisions. When a driver has to choose between missing a critical appointment or attempting a risky pass, many will choose the pass. They are not “bad drivers”; they are rational actors responding to the incentives created by a failed infrastructure. Blaming them is like blaming a flood victim for trying to climb to higher ground.
Therefore, focusing on enforcement and education is a futile exercise. No amount of ticketing or public service announcements will change the fundamental physics of the situation. As long as a single slow vehicle can choke traffic on our primary national artery, drivers will be forced into high-risk situations.
The only logical and permanent solution is to modernize our highways. Expanding the main thoroughfares to a four-lane system is not a luxury; it is a critical public safety necessity. A multi-lane highway would:
Allow for safe passing: A dedicated passing lane eliminates the need for drivers to swerve into oncoming traffic.
Separate traffic by speed: Slower vehicles could keep to the right lane, allowing faster traffic to flow unimpeded in the left lane.
Reduce driver frustration and aggression: By removing the primary bottleneck, the root cause of high-risk behavior is eliminated.
Until we address the core issue of inadequate infrastructure, we will continue to see a tragic and preventable loss of life on our roads. It is time to stop blaming drivers for a problem the road itself creates.
The post The Real Cause of Belize’s Traffic Fatalities: It’s the Road, Not the Driver appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News. By Delmer Dueck: The recent spike in road traffic accidents and related fatalities across Belize has prompted a predictable chorus of calls for more driver education, stricter laws, and increased enforcement. While well-intentioned, these proposals fundamentally
The post The Real Cause of Belize’s Traffic Fatalities: It’s the Road, Not the Driver appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.