WILLEMSTAD - In 2023, over twenty thousand cars in Curaçao were involved in accidents or other incidents such as theft, marking an increase of almost 1,400 vehicles compared to 2022. This represents nearly a quarter of all insured drivers, up from 21 percent in 2022, according to the annual report from Forensys, which handles accidents on behalf of insurers. 

The number of accidents and incidents increased by nearly a thousand. This rise is attributed not only to a higher number of accidents last year but also to a declining number of insured drivers. In 2019, there were over 92,000 insured drivers, which decreased to nearly 89,000 in 2022 and further dropped to just over 86,000 last year. In a quarter of the accidents (2,596), one of the parties involved had expired insurance. 

The majority of accidents were rear-end collisions, accounting for 25 percent of all incidents last year. This was followed by accidents involving reversing and single-vehicle accidents, each constituting about fifteen percent. 

In one out of five accidents, people were injured (2,100), and in the over 11,000 accidents that occurred in 2023, twenty people lost their lives.