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Worry and helplessness. That is the feeling that is repeated the most in those who demand “No more deaths of cyclists ”, and it is that this year, the traffic accidents that have affected those who use this means of transport have increased considerably.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Transport, near the 30% of the deaths in traffic accidents originate from causes related to speeding and loss of vehicle control. In addition, they are one of the leading causes of external death in children between 1 and 14 years old and in young people.
Regarding the types of users, 49% of deaths are in vulnerable modes: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
87 killed so far this year
So far this year they have registered 87 deaths in road accidents, a figure that exceeds the records of 2019, where 80 occurred.
The last victim was a 24-year-old cyclist, who died this Thursday morning after being run over by a Transantiago bus at the intersection of Holland with Avenida Providencia.
And recently, last Tuesday, another was also killed by a car at the intersection of Pajaritos with Las Torres, in the eastern sector of the capital.
It is because of these losses that cyclists have taken to the streets en masse to demand greater security and concrete measures to prevent deaths from continuing to rise.
Diagnosis
In that same, 59 citizen organizations, activists and academics signed a letter requesting the government to take measures to prevent unnecessary deaths.
In the letter they detail that “among the main causes of irreparable loss of life is the increased speed of motorized vehicles, recklessness when driving and the reduction of control, added to the lack of commitment by the State to build secure infrastructure ”.
Therefore, they ask to establish immediate coordination with the Carabineros, the sectoral authorities, the Traffic Safety Commission and the regional and local authorities to control the maximum speed and the rules contained in the law, with respect to private vehicles and reinforce, especially, in the case of public transport, training in road coexistence and safety.
Additionally, they require funds to improve intersections and risk axes that are identified, implement urban areas with a speed of 30 km / hr and intervene with traffic lights and to comply with the law of coexistence and accelerate the construction of high standard bike lanes.
Diagnosis that was shared by the general coordinator of the Collective Move, Sandra Aguilera, specified that the “problem is much more structural, it has to do with the delivery of resources to sustainable mobility, it has to do with road education and a road coexistence law is on the verge of turning 2 years old and does not have clear regulations. We are talking about a law that has existed for two years and they are not respected, they are dead laws, which are not reaching the streets “.
He stressed that the worrying thing is that accidents involving public transport and cyclists have increased, which is why he specified that Urge that drivers are trained.
In his opinion, “there is a lack of will to protect people’s lives, especially when cycling is the road means that most protects the group.”
CATI Law
The Minister of Transport, Gloria Hutt, acknowledged her concern about the figures in road accidents, emphasizing the importance of approving the CATI Law, which will allow the generation of automation in security cameras, which will be located at the points where accidents have been recorded the most, allowing cars to slow down.
It is projected that in the first year of its operation, there will be at least 200 cameras that monitor and fine drivers who speed in urban areas.
Pilot plan
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the automated inspection system, the ministry presented a pilot who, in just one week, showed that 40% of the drivers who circulated on Camino El Alba did so at more than 50 km / h, which is would translate into more than 23,800 violations.
Given these results, the executive secretary of Conaset, Johanna Vollrath, indicated that “our main objective is to save lives in traffic and that is why we have promoted pilot initiatives such as speed measurement through radars of different technologies, such as that we are presenting in the commune of Las Condes. This is in addition to other experiences that we have developed over the past year in communes such as Puente Alto, Estación Central and Valparaíso ”.
The Las Condes pilot plan consists of a multi-target tracking Doppler radar and a high resolution camera, at the intersection of Camino El Alba and Camino La Fuente.
In one week, the radar registered 60,587 vehicles, of which, 23,822 drivers exceeded the maximum speed established in urban areas, that is to say, 39.3% circulated at more than 50 km / h. In turn, a vehicle was detected traveling at 116 km / h.
On business days, 47,133 vehicles were registered, of which 35.2% exceeded 50 km / h, which would translate into 16,612 infractions. Meanwhile, during the weekend they registered 13,454 vehicles and 53.5% did so at more than 50 km / h, which would mean 7,210 infractions.
For the afternoon of this Thursday a demonstration of cyclists demanding justice for the deceased is scheduled. Measure that will be replicated on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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