Havana/Illegality in Cuba was responsible for three out of every 10 traffic accidents in 2025. According to figures from the National Road Safety Commission revealed this Sunday by Cubadebate31% of drivers involved in a road accident last year did not have a driving license.
The figure represents a slight increase compared to what was reported in mid-2024. At that time, Roberto Rodríguez, head of the Specialized Traffic Body of the Ministry of the Interior, said in the official Mesa Redonda program that 29% of the drivers involved in accidents did not have a driving license.
Given the increase in these cases, Cubadebate says that “more effective” preventive action is needed, with “effective and dissuasive road controls to detect unlicensed drivers.”
In the text, the media also urges to tighten surveillance to locate people who drive “under the influence of alcohol before their actions culminate in tragedy.” The criticism sotto voce It is because official data shows that the state sector was involved in half of the accidents. And an even more worrying fact: 98% of those involved in an accident whose license was revoked for being “under the influence of alcohol” were drivers who worked for an institution.
The media urges to tighten surveillance to locate people who drive “under the influence of alcohol”
The media highlights that there are “problems in the management, control, training and discipline mechanisms within state fleets, which include trucks, buses, machinery and service cars.” Likewise, it indicates that “this pattern requires a profound review of the selection protocols, continuous training, en route supervision and consequences regime within state entities”, because “road safety is, ultimately, a matter of political will.”
In general figures, Cuba registered last year a increase in deaths due to traffic accidents, compared to 2024. 750 deaths were recorded in the country, 18.2% more than a year before, when 634 were reported.
That was not the only rising figure. The number of mishaps also increased, although marginally. Last year, there were 7,538 accidents, compared to the 7,507 that were recorded in 2024. The same happened with the injured. Authorities revealed that there were 6,718, 105 more than a year before, with 6,613. In these three areas, the country showed a rebound, after a decline in 2024.
For the authorities, 72% of road accidents were the fault of the “human factor.” In their defense, they pointed out that “not respecting the right of way, not paying due attention to the driving of the vehicle and excessive speed” were the “main causes of most of the accidents.”
Motorcycles, mopeds and pedestrians “were present in 63% of the events”
In addition, they pointed out that motorcycles, mopeds and pedestrians “were present in 63% of the events.” 2025 “was characterized by a sustained increase in the vehicle fleet, mainly of vulnerable means, such as motorcycles and mopeds and, with it, a greater number of drivers with less experience and the ability to maneuver to face the challenges imposed by a greater flow of vehicles,” the authorities indicated last January.
In that report, there was minimal, almost hidden, mention of the poor condition of the streets and highways due to the general lack of maintenance, as well as a good part of the vehicle fleet with between 40 and 70 years of operation. The phrase “deteriorated road axis” was barely mentioned in the country, denounced time and again by the population as one of the determining causes of the high incidence of accidents.
This problem has been admitted by the Minister of Transport himself, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávilawho recognized at the beginning of last year that “deterioration is accumulating” around roads and vehicles.
Another factor – not mentioned – has been the impact of the blackouts, which have kept dozens of traffic lights out of operation throughout the country for long periods a day, which has caused that at busy intersections, such as in Havana, there have been recorded multiple accidents in recent years.
