Panamas unchecked road slaughter hits new highs

CRIME RELATED deaths are the ones that linger longer in the public perception, but slaughter  on Panama’s highways and city streets remains  one of the country’s biggest ongoing tragedies.

At the time of writing, in this week alone 11 people have died ”  and at least 25 hospitalized in in what are euphemistically  called, “accidents”, putting continuing strain on ambulances, paramedics, police and fire services, the first responders whose daily gory duties involve scraping body parts off pavements, struggling to remove survivors from crushed wreckage and performing first aid on  bloodied bodies   before  rushing them to   the country’s overloaded public hospitals.

The total death toll in less than six months reached  209  on “Black Friday”June 9, which puts Panama  on track to surpass last years horrific total  of 458.  

With a population  of under 4 million that’s quite an achievement compared with say Ontario, Canada, which I visited last month.

 There, with a population close to  14 million, there was handwringing  when in 2015 road deaths in the province climbed by 10 to 299.

The “good news” was that  deaths involving the big four badies  Alcohol/drugs, speed,  inattention (smart phones), and no seat belts, were down, indications that public and private campaigns were working.

There are programs like  RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) with police roadblocks  testing drivers, even on remote country roads).

There is also a  Draconian accumulation of demerit points for not using seat  belts (2 points for each person with no belt… six  points  and you are called in for questioning, more, means re-testing).

A Toronto tax driver told me of fines  up to $1,000  for texting or using a smart phone while driving. Staggered I checked it out and discovered  that offenders are also slapped with 3 demerit points (see re-testing). Offering coima to a local cop to make the problem go away will get you  a lengthy jail term.

 The accumulated points are carefully monitored by insurance companies, who push up renewal charges for  five years. That’s when offenders seek a bank loan or give up the car, depending on the depth of their wallet.

And then there’s MAD, (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)  a vigilant proselytizing group who give backbone to magistrates handing out jail sentences for impaired driving.

None of this is rocket science and it works. So why do Panama’s authorities and insurance companies stand by, tallying the daily carnage?

According to the Transit Authority (ATTT) the  major causes of Panama’s highway death toll  are impaired alcohol/drugs, speed and  smartphone use. Sound familiar?

 Seat belts are apparently not included on the list  although on Friday a passenger hurtled through the windshield of a speeding  car that crashed in Alcalde Diaz.

El Siglo graphically reported the incident: “The 18-year-old died instantly on the spot. His face was disfigured, he was without shoes and lying on his back, next to the bridge[hit by the driver].”

When did you last tell a passenger to buckle up?).