Costa Rica News – Costa Rica wants to build more and more highways but what will this do to the number of accidents? A sustainable transport specialist, Darío Hidalgo, explains and defends the world tendency to lower maximum speed limits as a strategy to reduce road deaths.
Increasing road safety, not simply building more roads, will decrease road deaths. Among his suggestions are constructing infrastructure that protects the most vulnerable users, pedestrians and cyclists, as well as reducing speed limits and strengthening public transportation.
He has worked in Bogotá and Medellín which have become exemplary cities in efficient public transport and road safety.
He knows pedestrians are the most vulnerable and sees them as the highest priority. He also knows this idea is not politically accepted. The most road deaths, however, happen among pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.
He suggests making helmet and seatbelt use mandatory and instating a zero tolerance policy for operating a vehicle under the influence. He believes trams, subways and high capacity buses reduce risk exposure.
