This week a woman was run over and killed on the questioned Southern Expressway. In dialogue with Correo, Carlos Villegas, representative of the Association of Victims of Traffic Accidents (Aviactran) makes a reading of this and other deaths on the Peruvian slopes.
How do we close 2025 in terms of traffic accidents?
During 2025, 3,980 deaths and 105,000 traffic accidents will be recorded. It has exceeded what was recorded in 2024 by approximately 10% or 15%.
What is the main cause of these accidents?
They are speeding, driver recklessness, pedestrian recklessness and alcohol status, in fourth place. Within the excess of speed there are the famous bus drivers, who run on the roads and invade the opposite lane even on a curve. In recklessness, one of the causes is drowsiness.
How many accidents have been recorded so far in 2026?
So far we have 150 deaths from traffic accidents.
What is the relationship with respect to 2025?
It’s going up. We have more accidents on linear motorcycles. That is what is greatly increasing the accident rate in Peru. That comes from 2023. There is also a high accident rate for light vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, among others. There is a lot of accidents because there is no adequate road infrastructure or road education.
You just mentioned infrastructure. What is your opinion about the questioned Vía Expresa Sur?
Being an expressway, it must have pedestrian bridges. So, what happened to the lady is a premeditated murder. We held a sit-in and we are going to hold one more. We are waiting for permits from the Ministry of the Interior.
When will they comply with this new demonstration?
We are thinking about the first week of February, because we have no response from the Municipality of Lima about the pedestrian bridges. We are going to go out in a sit-in, with the family of the deceased lady. We are going to demand compensation from the Municipality of Lima and Emape. We are going to give Lima six months to build the pedestrian bridges, and if any more accidents occur, with serious injuries or death, I will not go to the Constitutional Court, or the Ministry of Justice. I will go to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to ask for reparations.
Mayor Renzo Reggiardo has already announced the implementation of bridges…
Lie, there is no technical sheet about it. It is surprising the citizens.
Without bridges, do you think there will be new fatalities on the road?
I don’t know. But you have to know, is it an Expressway or is it an avenue? The municipality of Lima must define this. Second, there must be Traffic Police. Before there was an accident with a traffic police officer. It seems to me that they are waiting for more deaths.
Does mobility through applications impact the situation of insecurity on the slopes?
We have stated that all application mobility companies must have legal personality, legal domicile in Peru. They don’t have it. We see every day in the media that people have been raped, kidnapped, assaulted in those units. When the police tell you, ‘Sir, there has been a robbery in your vehicle,’ they don’t have the information, they don’t have anything.
What measures do they ask for in this regard?
We are asking for a minimum or cars with a maximum of 10 years, as is done in Chile, Uruguay, Mexico and Colombia. In Ecuador it is 7 years maximum. This way there are no junks making public transport. The apps are filling their pockets and sending the money abroad, while here they exploit the taxi drivers, the Peruvian drivers. They don’t give them a policy, they don’t give them social security, they don’t give them anything.
Are traffic accidents claiming more lives than crime and criminality?
I’ve been saying that for 20 years. I have always stated that crime is a minimal percentage next to traffic accidents. Traffic accidents are the first cause of death, not only in Peru, but worldwide.
What is the situation in Peru at the regional level in terms of accidents?
Peru is in first place in terms of deaths from traffic accidents in Latin America. We beat second place by approximately 20%. The second country is Colombia, and the third is Ecuador. Mexico is in fourth place.
