El Salvador Perspectives

Last Tuesday, three traffic accidents in different parts of El Salvador provided graphic examples of some of the issues involving traffic management in El Salvador.   Two involved the deaths of motorcycle riders who perished when they were struck by other vehicles on Salvadoran highways.  The third was a massive pile up in the capital city San Salvador when a large trailer truck careened in what appeared to be uncontrolled speed into stopped traffic at a point where major thoroughfares come together. Two people were killed and at least ten injured, many in critical condition.  Dozens of cars were left destroyed by the pile-up.   Road fatalities are an ongoing concern in El Salvador. With an annual death rate of around 22 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, the country faces a significant challenge in reducing the number of lives lost due to traffic accidents. Many factors contribute to this situation including inadequate infrastructure, poorly maintained r...

You can spend a lot of time in El Salvador's cities in traffic, particularly in San Salvador.  Growing number of vehicles on the roads in crowded cities produce rush hours which can seem to last throughout the day and challenge your ability to arrive on time. On the one hand, the growth in the number of vehicles is a positive sign of a growing number of Salvadoran households able to afford car ownership.   On the other hand, the country has to struggle with congestion and the need to adapt its street and highway system to the ever increasing vehicle total. Here is a set of statistics about traffic in El Salvador: 1.5 million .  That's the number of vehicles  registered to drive on El Salvador's roads according to the vice minister of Transportation .   That total includes slightly more than 1 million cars and 451 thousand motorcycles. 10 thousand .  The number of additional vehicles which arrive in the country each month, the majority of them bein...