During the first week of 2023, the traffic safety narrative in Nicaragua centered on the tragic toll of road incidents. The National Police reported a concerning pattern of fatalities linked to speeding and drunk driving, underscoring the ongoing risks faced by road users as the year began.
Across January 2–8, authorities counted 602 vehicle collisions. In a briefing to state media and those involved with the Managua government, Vilma Reyes, head of the Traffic Safety Directorate, summarized a grim balance: 23 people lost their lives and 25 were injured. Among the deceased, 9 were pedestrians, 8 were drivers, and 6 were passengers, highlighting how every road user category was affected by early-year crashes.
Specifically, the most deadly factors in this period, excluding January 1, were speeding (which accounted for 12 deaths), driving under the influence (6 deaths), and pedestrian negligence (5 deaths). The days around New Year celebrations also saw significant harm, with 12 killed and 10 injured during the holiday period marked by festivities across communities.
Overall, between December 31 and January 8, the nation reported 35 fatalities and an equal number of injuries according to data from the National Police. Those numbers emphasize a continuous public safety challenge in Nicaragua, where road incidents rank among the leading causes of injury and death across the country.
Looking back to late December, officials noted that by December 25, 2022, road fatalities in Nicaragua totaled 939, with 76 deaths occurring in December alone. The national health map identifies traffic accidents as a persistent top-ten cause of death, surpassing other major health threats such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and hypertensive conditions, underscoring the broad impact of road danger on public health and safety.
Past annual totals further illustrate the scale of the issue. According to the Ministry of Health, 639 people died on Nicaragua’s roads in 2021, a figure that reflects ongoing vulnerabilities and informs ongoing discussions about traffic enforcement, road design, driver education, and emergency response readiness across the country.