The Guadalajara Reporter

Fleeing accidents is a common practice in Mexico

If you’re involved accident with a Mexican driver, either as a motorist or pedestrian, be warned that there’s a good chance that the culprit will flee the scene.

In fact, 14 percent of drivers run from the scene of accidents, according to new data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). After darkness falls, the figure increases to 23 percent.

When there is a fatality involved in the accident, 27 percent of drivers flee the scene, INEGI says.

A major reason for this is because only eight out of ten vehicles in Mexico carry insurance, according to the Asociacion Mexicana de Instituciones de Seguros.

Fortunately, that figure is higher in Jalisco, where insurance is obligatory,  although many people still drive uninsured.

INEGI notes that drivers who fled accident scenes were responsible for 1,425 fatalities and 19,325 injuries in 2012. Predictably, accidents involving pedestrians accounted for 39 percent of this total.

In Jalisco, drivers who note down the license plates of drivers who flee from accident scenes can take that information to the Secreatia de Vialidad y Transporte (SVT) and file a complaint.  The SVT is obliged to follow up to trace the offender and apply sanctions.