57 killed in traffic incidents in 2019

57 killed in traffic incidents in 2019
A photo from a traffic accident that took place on April 14, 2019.

Traffic fatalities dropped 17 percent after substantial rise in previous year

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Fifty-seven people were killed in 54 separate road traffic accidents in 2019, according to data released by Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson this week.

This represents a 17 percent decrease over the 69 traffic related deaths in 2018 — a reversal of the upward trend seen over the previous year.

There were 54 people killed in traffic accidents in 2017.

Following the nearly 30 percent increase between 2017 and 2018, authorities pledged to decrease the number of traffic fatalities and accidents, the majority of which took place in New Providence and were largely attributed to drivers being distracted by using handheld devices while operating their vehicles.

At the time, authorities said the use of handheld devices caused more traffic fatalities and traffic incidents than drivers who were involved in incident as a result of being drunk.

In 2019, there were 33 fatal traffic accidents in New Providence, 11 in Grand Bahama and 15 in the Family Islands.

The vast majority of victims continued to be men.

According to the data, 48 men were killed in traffic accidents last year, a drop of 14 percent over the 53 men killed in traffic accidents in 2018.

Nine women fell victim to traffic fatalities in 2019.

This represents a 44 percent decline over the 16 women killed in 2018.

The data showed that 21 of the deceased were drivers, 17 were pedestrians, 10 were passengers, and nine were motorcycle riders.

Bahamians accounted for 82 percent of deaths with 47, a decrease over the 51 Bahamians killed in 2018.

Two Haitians, two Americans, three Jamaicans, one Peruvian and two individuals whose nationality was unknown were also killed.

In 2018, 13 Haitians were killed in traffic accidents.

The majority of incidents took place in central and south central New Providence.

The largest grouping of people killed were between 26 and 35 (33 percent); and between 36 and 45 (21 percent).

Four of the victims were aged 18-25; and two were under 17.