WILLEMSTAD – More than 1,000 traffic accidents each year in Curaçao involve at least one driver leaving the scene, according to figures from ForenSys. The numbers show that hit-and-run incidents have become a persistent problem rather than a recent increase.
In 2024, ForenSys registered 1,113 cases in which a vehicle left the scene of an accident, an average of almost 93 incidents per month. In 2025, the number remained virtually unchanged at 1,104, or approximately 92 per month.
More than 700 cases have already been recorded by mid-September this year. While the number is high, it is broadly in line with the pattern recorded during the previous two years.
By the end of August 2024, 701 such cases had been reported, compared with 695 by the same point in 2025. Both years ultimately ended with more than 1,100 incidents.
The figures indicate that in roughly one out of every ten registered traffic incidents in Curaçao, at least one vehicle leaves the scene.
Another concern emerging from the traffic statistics is the large number of motorists involved in accidents who cannot produce valid insurance documents.
In 2025, drivers of 2,661 vehicles involved in accidents were unable to show an insurance document. That represented nearly 13 percent of vehicles for which insurance information could be established. Another 1,462 vehicles, or more than seven percent, had insurance documents recorded as expired.
The situation was similar in 2024, when drivers of 2,455 vehicles could not produce insurance documents, while 2,082 vehicles were registered as having expired insurance papers.
The figures do not establish a direct connection between driving without valid insurance and leaving the scene of an accident. ForenSys specifically excludes vehicles that fled an accident from its insurance-document statistics. It is therefore not known how many hit-and-run vehicles were uninsured.
However, separate police operations have also revealed widespread problems with vehicle documentation.
During checks conducted as part of the Kita Tur campaign in May last year, more than 46 percent of vehicles inspected did not have all required documents, such as a valid driver's license, insurance or inspection certificate. Police seized 725 vehicles during the first four months of the campaign.
The figures point to a broader challenge on Curaçao's roads, where large numbers of drivers continue to operate vehicles without being able to demonstrate that they meet basic legal requirements.