Government to Rebuild Benque Road Where Accident Happened

The tragic accident has underscored the urgent need for several measures. Families and friends of the victims are calling for stricter enforcement of traffic laws, tougher penalties for violations, and improved infrastructure on the San Ignacio/Benque road where the incident occurred. Today, Cayo North Area Representative Michel Chebat shared with us that the government has listened to these pleas. He mentioned that some of these measures will be announced as soon as tomorrow at the House Meeting.

 

Michel Chebat, Area Representative, Cayo North

“I don’t want to preempt our Prime Minister, but I know that he will be at the House Meeting tomorrow. He should be presenting some of the changes that we can see happening. But let’s step back for a moment. I know you referred to 2019. The Benque Viejo Road, as we call it, where this accident actually happened, is just being rebuilt. It is in the process of being rebuilt. It has not been completed and so a lot of what we need on that road have not yet been put in. The dividers, the reflectors, the signs, all of those are going to come. But unfortunately, that road is not yet completed. That is on the one side. On the other side, Marion, I think as drivers, we too have to take responsibility for our actions, and I think some education. People are calling for driver education, which I think would be very helpful to make sure that when people get their driver’s license, they actually do both the manual and the written exam so that they understand the rules of the road and so forth. Certainly, I can tell you that next week, Thursday, we are going to be breaking ground for the Contiki community police station, which is in that vicinity. And I think that that is very timely because with the formal opening of the Benque Road, the Benque Highway, the police will now have closer access to that road. It means that they’ll be able to put up more patrols in the night. They’re going to be able to put up more police stops. And they’re going to have a greater presence in that area. And certainly, it’s going to give them a faster reaction time in the event of any accidents.”