HAVANA, Cuba. – A traffic accident took place yesterday afternoon in the locality of Jimbambay, in the outskirts of the city of Camagüey, when a tourism vehicle drove off a small bridge leaving two people wounded.
According to reports on social media, rain and the poor condition of the tires were responsible for the driver losing control of the vehicle.
“The driver lost control of the wheel at the downward slope due to heavy rain and the poor condition of the front tires of the vehicle, whose treads were completely worn with the metal mesh exposed,” explained Adrián Bello, Facebook user on ACCIDENTES BUSES & CAMIONES for more experience and fewer victims.
“Half a mile from Jimbambay, on the road to Oriente province, I was the first to come to the rescue of the driver who lost control of his vehicle on the downward slope due to the heavy rains and to the completely worn treads of the front tires; rental company in Holguín, the metal mesh of the tires was exposed. They send vehicles out in bad condition and then they complaint when accidents happen; two people are wounded and were taken to the hospital.”
Both passengers in the car –not identified as of this writing- were injured and were taken to the “Manuel Ascunce Domenech” Provincial Teaching Clinical Hospital.
The car, a Model 301 Peugeot, is part of the car rental pool in Holguín province. It ended up under the bridge several meters away from the road.
“Rental cars in Cuba are not subject to any type of mechanical inspection, they are all in disrepair, with spare parts that are soldered, even steering parts, in many of them, the brakes are worn, and they still rent the cars in order to make money out of them,” Yasser Cabrera commented on Facebook.
This Facebook user added: “most of them have worn front tires,” which, “on top of poor traffic signs and deteriorated roads, is the perfect formula for disasters.” “That’s why there are so many accidents in Cuba with those cars.”
Last August 26, one person died and two others were wounded in a similar traffic accident at Autopista Nacional Km 166, in Cienfuegos province.
On that day, a tourism rental car of the same make and model skidded out of control and hit a truck that was moving in the same direction.
Cuban authorities report that the main reasons for vehicular accidents in Cuba are its old vehicle fleet, poor traffic signing on the roads, speeding, and drunk driving.
In spite of the fact that 2020 saw less traffic accidents in Cuba, due mainly to moving restrictions on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the first few months of 2021, the number of traffic accidents on the road had increased, many of them with fatalities.
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