Increased Visitation Leading To More Los Cabos Traffic Accidents

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The increase in visitors to Los Cabos and more inattentive driving is leading to an increase in traffic accidents on area freeways and roads.

According to Cabo San Lucas Fire Department Commander Juan Antonio Carbajal Figueroa, traffic accidents in the Los Cabos area have increased by nearly 20 percent in the first two months of this year.

What’s Leading to the Increase

Los Cabos has been a popular resort-style destination getaway this year. This has resulted in increased demand for infrastructure services in the area. One of the most impacted services has been the area’s freeways and roadways.

This has resulted in peak-time traffic jams in popular Los Cabos areas, especially around the centers of tourist activity such as El Médano beach.

This increase in tourist traffic has led to additional vehicle accidents in Los Cabos. In effect, this has led to even more traffic in the area, especially on the Transpeninsular Highway.

Increased Calls for Emergency Service

Traditionally the fire department in Cabo San Lucas responds to a total of 13 emergency calls for service each day, and on weekends this number jumps to a total of 17 calls.

This is an 18 percent increase on what was previously seen before the significant jump in Los Cabos tourist traffic.

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The increase comes at a time when the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department actually saw a decrease in calls for emergency services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the inability to travel and the need for social distancing, there were fewer accidents on local roadways.

Now that people are out driving more and the traveler counts to Los Cabos have significantly increased, the number of accidents is on the rise once again.

While most people believe the fire department responds to calls about fires, this is a small number of the overall calls for service in Los Cabos. Most of the emergency response runs are instead connected to medical incidents or, in this case, traffic accidents.

According to Commander Carbajal Figueroa, the main causes for the increase in traffic incidents on Los Cabos roads include the high volume of road traffic due to an influx of travelers and a general unfamiliarity with the roads in the area.

He also added that driving with high beams when not needed for Los Cabos roadway conditions and the general ignoring of roadway traffic and four-way stop signs have been cited as issues in many recent traffic accidents.

How Los Cabos Tourists Can Help

Los Cabos local driving regulations require that drivers lower their high beams as a vehicle is seen approaching from the opposite direction. This is generally the law in all countries around the world.

However, Los Cabos tourists have been ignoring this rule and instead causing accidents by blinding oncoming drivers. This issue has been compounded lately with the increased use of high-efficiency LED headlights that are much brighter than traditional headlights.

To reduce the number of accidents in Los Cabos, visitors are asked to get directions to locations they are visiting in advance. Reviewing driving directions in advance can help Los Cabos tourists ensure they are familiar with the general area roads and landmarks needed to recognize turns in advance.

The use of a handheld GPS is a good idea for tourists navigating the local highways and roadways. However, drivers should not divert their eyes from the roadway in order to view the maps or navigation on a hand-held device.

Tourists are also asked to follow the same rules and laws in Los Cabos that they encounter in the United States. This request pertains to the use of high-beam headlights as well as the mandatory use of seat belts and hands-free phone tools.

Driving while texting or talking on a cell phone is illegal for drivers in Los Cabos, just as it is for drivers in the United States.