Photo: Maria Fleischmann / World Bank

Guatemala

Latin America & the Caribbean

Guatemala's Road Safety Country Profile

This road safety country data presents information on all pillars of road safety (management, roads, speed, vehicles, road users, and post-crash care), along with information on the current status for each country and region along with extensive information on key risk factors, issues and opportunities.

THE SCALE OF THE ROAD SAFETY CHALLENGE ^{Ref: 1,2,3,4,5}

82%

Percentage of Road Crash Fatalities and Injuries in the economically productive age groups (15 - 64 years.)
4:1

Ratio of Male to Female Fatalities with the 15 - 49 year age group being most vulnerable to fatalities.
863 life yrs.

affected due to disability from road crash injuries per 100,000 people.

Road crash fatalities and injuries snapshot

Country Population, 2016:	16,582,469
Country Reported Fatalities, 2016:	2,058
WHO Estimated Fatalities, 2016:	2,758
GBD Estimated Fatalities, 2016:	2,635
WHO Est. Fatalities per 100,000 Pop., 2016:	16.6
Estimated Serious Injuries, 2016:	41,370
Cost of Fatalities and Serious Injuries, 2016:	$3,797 million
Cost as % of country GDP, 2016:	5.5%

- 4 Wheeler#689ad037,42,32
- 2 or 3 Wheeler#e0834417,17,20
- Cyclist#a5a5a53,5,6
- Pedestrian#f6c24341,35,41
- Other#4e72bf1,2,1
- Guatemala
- Mean in Region
- Mean in MICs

Positioning of Country in Region (Compared to Countries with the Lowest Traffic Fatalities in the Region and Globally)

	2016 WHO Estimated Road Fatalities	2016 GBD Estimated Road Fatalities	2016 WHO Estimated Fatality Rate/100,000 pop.	2016 GBD Estimated Fatality Rate/ 100,000 pop.	% Trend in Fatality Rate/100,000 (2013-2016)	Motorization Registered Vehicles/100,000 pop.
Guatemala	2,758	2,635	16.6	15.92	2.6%	19,600
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	975	1,124	8.5	9.86	4.9%	5,519
Grenada	10	12	9.3	10.65	4.5%	25,407
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	223	334	2.65	3.89	-5.4%	71,182
Norway	143	215	2.72	4.09	2.4%	75,544
Singapore	155	197	2.76	3.53	-4.9%	16,604
Sweden	278	390	2.83	3.88	-3.2%	62,037

	2016 WHO Estimated Road Fatalities
Guatemala	2,758
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	975
Grenada	10
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	223
Norway	143
Singapore	155
Sweden	278

	2016 GBD Estimated Road Fatalities
Guatemala	2,635
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	1,124
Grenada	12
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	334
Norway	215
Singapore	197
Sweden	390

	2016 WHO Estimated Fatality Rate/100,000 pop.
Guatemala	16.6
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	8.5
Grenada	9.3
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	2.65
Norway	2.72
Singapore	2.76
Sweden	2.83

	2016 GBD Estimated Road Fatalities
Guatemala	15.92
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	9.86
Grenada	10.65
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	3.89
Norway	4.09
Singapore	3.53
Sweden	3.88

	2016 GBD Estimated Road Fatalities
Guatemala	2.6%
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	4.9%
Grenada	4.5%
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	-5.4%
Norway	2.4%
Singapore	-4.9%
Sweden	-3.2%

	2016 GBD Estimated Road Fatalities
Guatemala	19,600
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN REGION
Cuba	5,519
Grenada	25,407
BEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES GLOBALLY
Switzerland	71,182
Norway	75,544
Singapore	16,604
Sweden	62,037

Ⅰ. ROAD SAFETY MANAGEMENT ^{Ref: 1}

To produce positive road safety outcomes, strong management in all aspects of road safety is key. Presence of a funded lead agency to guide the national road safety effort and implement a Safe Systems approach is recommended.

	Guatemala has a lead agency present, Transit Department, Ministry of Government, which is funded in the national budget, and has a road safety strategy which is partially funded. The functions of the agency include coordination, legislation and monitoring and evaluation of road safety strategies. The country only has a fatal road safety target, to reduce fatalities by 5.5% fatalities per 100,000 population with a timeline of 2016 - 2020.

Ⅱ. SAFE ROADS AND ROADSIDES ^{Ref: 1,4}

Business Case for Safer Roads
Infrastructure and Speed Management Investment required:	$0.34 billion
Annual Investment as a % of GDP (2019-2030):	0.04%
Reduction in fatalities per year:	1,176
Approximate reduction in fatalities and serious injuries (FSI) over 20 years:	260,000
Economic Benefit:	$16.91 billion
B/C Ratio:	50

Ⅲ. SAFE SPEEDS ^{Ref: 1,6,7,8}

Maximum Speed Limits and Enforcement

National Speed Limit
Speed Enforcement	Manual

National Speed Limit
Speed Enforcement	Manual

	URBAN ROADS	RURAL ROADS	MOTORWAYS
Current Speed Limit	60 km/h	80 km/h	100 km/h
Difference with Recomended Safe System Speed	+30 km/h	+10 km/h	+10 km/h
Potential Decrease in Fatal Road Crashes from Enforcement of Safe System Speed Limits	6 times lower	2 times lower	1 times lower

	URBAN ROADS
Current Speed Limit	60 km/h
Difference with Recomended Safe System Speed	+30 km/h
Potential Decrease in Fatal Road Crashes from Enforcement of Safe System Speed Limits	6 times lower

	RURAL ROADS
Current Speed Limit	80 km/h
Difference with Recomended Safe System Speed	+10 km/h
Potential Decrease in Fatal Road Crashes from Enforcement of Safe System Speed Limits	2 times lower

	MOTORWAYS
Current Speed Limit	100 km/h
Difference with Recomended Safe System Speed	+10 km/h
Potential Decrease in Fatal Road Crashes from Enforcement of Safe System Speed Limits	1 times lower

Major Speed Calming Measures Being Implemented

Narrowing	Horizontal Deflections
Include lane narrowings by extending sidewalks, curb extensions, pedestrian refuges etc.	Used to make vehicles swerve slightly, include chicanes, pedesrian refuges, chokers etc.
Vertical Deflections	Block or Restrict Access
Include speed bumps, humps, cushions, tables, raised pedestrian crossing, variation in ride surface etc.	Include median diverters, closing streets to create pedestrian zones,cul-de-sacs etc.

Narrowing

Include lane narrowings by extending sidewalks, curb extensions, pedestrian refuges etc.

Horizontal Deflections

Used to make vehicles swerve slightly, include chicanes, pedesrian refuges, chokers etc.

Vertical Deflections

Include speed bumps, humps, cushions, tables, raised pedestrian crossing, variation in ride surface etc.

Block or Restrict Access

Include median diverters, closing streets to create pedestrian zones,cul-de-sacs etc.

Ⅳ. SAFE VEHICLES ^{Ref: 1,8}

3,250,194

total registered vehicles as of 2016
38%

motorized 2/3 wheelers as of 2016

Country Compliance to the UN Vehicle Safety Regulations

Frontal and Side Impact (Reg. 94, 95)	Regulated Regulation of Import of Used Vehicles
Motorcycle Anti-Lock Braking System (Reg. 78)	7 Import Age Limit
Pedestrian Protection (Reg. 127)	No Taxation Based Limits
Electronic Stability Control (Reg. 140)	No Import Inspections
Seat Belts and Anchorages (Reg. 16, 14)	No Periodic Inspection

Frontal and Side Impact (Reg. 94, 95)

Motorcycle Anti-Lock Braking System (Reg. 78)

Pedestrian Protection (Reg. 127)

Electronic Stability Control (Reg. 140)

Seat Belts and Anchorages (Reg. 16, 14)

Regulated Regulation of Import of Used Vehicles

7 Import Age Limit

No Taxation Based Limits

No Import Inspections

No Periodic Inspection

Ⅴ. SAFE ROAD USERS ^{Ref: 1,8}

National Seatbelt, Drink Driving and Helmet Laws (WHO, 2016)

National Seatbelt Law	Motorcycle Occupant Age Restriction: Not restricted
Driver	Legal Minimum Driving Age: 16 yrs.
Front	National Drink Driving Law
Back	Is Law BAC Based?
Motorcycle Helmet Law	Random Drink Driving Tests
Helmet Standards	% of Road Crach Fatalities Involving Alcohol: Unknown

National Seatbelt Law

Driver

Front

Back

Motorcycle Helmet Law

Helmet Standards

Motorcycle Occupant Age Restriction: Not restricted

Legal Minimum Driving Age: 16 yrs.

National Drink Driving Law

Is Law BAC Based?

Random Drink Driving Tests

% of Road Crach Fatalities Involving Alcohol: Unknown

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits (g/dl)

General Population	No
Young Drivers	No
Professional Drivers	No

General Population	No
Young Drivers	No
Professional Drivers	No

Ⅵ. POST CRASH CARE ^{Ref: 1,8,9}

Good post-crash care reduces deaths and reduces disability and suffering for road crash survivors. The emergency medical care system elements and processes need to be effective to attain this objective.

National Emergency Care Access Number: National, Multiple Numbers

Traume Registry System: Some Facilities

Country Health Coverage Index - SDG Target 3.8; Target - 100: 57

Expenditure on Healthcare as % of GDP: 6%

REFERENCES

Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018. World Health Organization;
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Results Tool. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2015;
Serious injuries have been calculated assuming a ratio of 15:1 (15 serious injuries for every death). This estimation broadly falls in the range of 30:1 in high income countries to 10:1 in low- and middle-income countries as crashes tend to be more fatal in the later context.
Vaccines for Roads, International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP). Available from https://www.vaccinesforroads.org/;
World Bank Databank for Development Indicators;
M.H. Cameron, R. Elvik. 2010. Nilsson's Power Model connecting speed and road trauma;
Austroads. Balance between harm reduction and mobility in setting speed limits;
UNEP-ITC Background Paper on Used Vehicles Globally and Various Media Sources (Wikipedia and vehicle import websites);
2018 World Health Statistics, WHO.

ROAD SAFETY COUNTRY PROFILE