Trinidad and Tobago: Road fatalities increase to 66 in 2024, marks 14% surge

Road fatalities in Trinidad and Tobago have become a huge cause of concern, making an increase from 58 in 2023 to 66 in 2024, marking a 14% surge as compared to the previous year.

This data was unveiled by Arrive Alive, a non-governmental organisation in Trinidad and Tobago which stated that that though the overall number of crashes has decreased but fatal road traffic accidents have surged in the country which has led to 70 deaths.

The authorities noted that the number of deaths reported from fatalities in the last year was 62, which has resulted in an increase of 13% in the current year.

Moreover, the Arrive Alive further shed light on the overall road traffic accidents and stated that it has saw a decline from 96 in the last year to 66 in 2024. They added, that these figures highlight that adult fatalities have declined from 99 to 69.

However, pedestrian deaths still remain high, with 31 this year as compared to 34 last year. The deaths of drivers have also fallen from the numbers of 43 to 22, and on the other hand, the number of passenger deaths has also declined to 12 from 17 recorded in the last year.

While extending condolences to the families affected by the road fatalities, the head of the road safety advocacy group, Arrive Alive, Sharon Inglefield noted that a vehicle can become a weapon in the wrong hands. Therefore, she asked all the drivers of the vehicle to adjust their speed as per the conditions of the road in order to avoid any accident in future.

She continued to say that the police can’t be present everywhere. Therefore, it is the driver’s responsibility to drive safe and avoid any aggressive driving. She added there are too many families who are grieving the loss of their close ones due to this road fatalities. Therefore, there is a need to bring change and advocate for better driving system.

She added that their main aim is to keep all the families together with zero injuries and zero fatalities. She added that every life is crucial and most of these deaths could have been avoided if the drivers had made safe choices.

Therefore, she urged all the drivers to never drive under the influence and always follow safety rules like wearing seatbelts and others to avoid any accident. She noted that this year serve as a reminder to all that road safety is everyone’s responsibility.

And, for the same, they have also promised that they will make all the possible efforts to bring decline in the number of road traffic collisions, injuries and fatalities.