According to a report presented by the Traffic Department of the Río Negro Police, Roca is the city with the most accidents involving motorcycles in the Alto Valle area. In second place is Cipolletti and third is Villa Regina.
Commissioner Marcos Peralta, head of the Río Negro Traffic Department, explained to this newspaper that the police keep records of reported traffic accidents. “There are cases in which there is no police intervention, which is why they are not reported,” he said.
According to a map prepared by the Department of Transit, in 2022 16 road accidents involving motorcycles were recorded on Route 22, Route 6 and within the city. Despite the high number, compared to 2021 it was lower, since at that time it was verified that there were 22 accidents.
In total in 2022 there were 53 accidents involving motorcycles in the Alto Valle. Roca represents the city with the largest number of accidents with 16 of which one was fatal; in Cipolletti 15 of which one was fatal and Villa Regina, the third city, closed the year with 9 of which two were fatalities.
For its part, the city of Chichinales, presented 5 accidents without fatalities, Allen 4 with one, Fernández Oro 2, and both Cervantes and Godoy, 1 motorcycle accident respectively. In Ingeniero Huergo and Mainqué there was no record.
Measures to reduce the number of claims in Roca
Compared to 2021, last year there was a noticeable reduction in road accidents in Roca. Félix Valenciano, Head of the Roca Road Safety Corps, in dialogue with this medium, assured that Measures were taken to reduce the number of accidents on the roads and within the city.
“In the first instance, we aim at education,” said Félix. Within the framework of the national program “My first license”, from the Roca Road Safety Corps, in the course of 2022 they toured secondary schools to train those who want to have their first driver’s license.
“We believe that it is essential to start with prevention from education. Providing training to adolescents so that they can obtain their licenses allows them to tell their parents regarding the Road Safety talks”, commented Félix.
In Roca, two breathalyzers were incorporated last year and permanent guards were also established on Route 22 of this town, in the area of Paso Córdoba, Allen, Chichinales and Casa de Piedra.
“Another of the tools we used to control was the Motorized Highway Patrol, which is a group of police officers who circulate on motorcycles throughout the area. They carry out sporadic checks throughout the route”, explained Roca’s Head of Road Safety.
The largest number of accidents was registered in young people
According to Marcos Peralta, Head of the Traffic Department of Río Negro, each traffic event implies that the number of injured is different. Last year, there were a total of 490 people involved in road accidents (cars, motorcycles, among others) in the province and 84 of them were fatalities. There were 183 victims with serious injuries, 66 with minor injuries and 158 did not report.
“Unfortunately, the age range that represents the greatest number of accidents is during youth. The range goes from 18 to 35 years old”, assured Marcos, adding that the highest percentage of claims is in men and not in women.
The hard work of Estrellas Amarillas to raise awareness
Carlos Torres, delegate of Yellow Stars in Rio Negro, in a dialogue with the RÍO NEGRO newspaper, explained how they keep records from the entity. «We record accidents, claims and visual infractions. 80% of these data are not registered by traffic regulatory entities.
In turn, he assured that in his records there are motorcycle drivers without established protection elements, such as helmets. “We see minors driving or children, babies in front of the driver,” he said.
In summer, it was possible to identify that many of the motorcycle drivers did not use adequate footwear. «They circulate with flip flops or barefoot. They cross the red traffic lights, go ahead on the right, circulate on the bike paths and sidewalks, “commented the delegate of Estrellas Amarilas.
From the organization they explained that they identify as sinister when the driver, even knowing that he is putting his life and other companions or other drivers at risk, does not stop or analyze the risk. On the other hand, they pointed out that they speak of accidents when the event occurs for mechanical reasons, the state of the route or the weather, that is, it was not intentional.
On the other hand, Carlos together with the members of Estrellas Amarillas, show concern regarding the lack of unification of criteria between the province and the municipalities.
«From Estrellas Amarillas we request unification of an agreement between the provincial and municipal state where organizations like ours also have participation, “said Carlos Torres and added that a single program must be thought of, which is not only collection and has education on the one hand and controller on the other.
“In our opinion, the sanctions must fulfill a clear objective. That they have community tasks within our institution and that they really see what happens when there is an accident. What is happening is that there is no austere and permanence campaign, as long as there is selfishness on the part of those who have the responsibility of carrying out these agreements on Road Safety, it will continue to happen and the sad thing is that it is increasing“, he concluded.
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