From fury to revenge, the demand of cycling groups for road safety in the capital of Mexico

Mario Trejo's life changed forever on the afternoon of November 6, 2020. While the 26-year-old was riding his bicycle, a passenger bus ran over him and ran over his leg, which days later caused him to be amputated of the limb.

"It will not be the same again," says Evelyn Sánchez, the victim's aunt, who since this event has joined every Friday demonstrations called by the cyclists' collective Justicia para todos to demand justice for deaths in road accidents in the City of Mexico.

Since the beginning of their protests, they have earned several insults from motorists by blocking important roads in the capital, but it was not until last week that they had a violent confrontation with members of the city police.

“First they were verbal attacks because they were pulling us back so as not to block the entrance to the second floor (of the Periférico, a main road) and then the assault came with blows,” says Sánchez, also a cyclist, 38 years old.

Marco Antonio Valdovinos also participated in this demonstration, which was called a "Friday of fury."

In 2019, Patricia Sánchez, his wife, died after being hit by another passenger bus on the same route as the one that hit Trejo.

"We have held these demonstrations on Fridays because we caused a great impact, but that confrontation occurred because until now we had not tried to block a controlled access road with a toll," says the 47-year-old worker.

"What prevails among the authorities is a disregard for the lives of the victims," ​​he says.

Derived from the covid-19 pandemic and confinement, there are fewer road accidents, but there are more deaths.

The increase in the speed at which cars go, as well as the increase in bicycle trips are two of the factors of this phenomenon.

According to data from the Ministry of Mobility (Semovi), until September last year there were just over 1,100 incidents on the streets of the capital in which 16 cyclists died, in contrast to the seven deaths registered in 2019. The highest proportion of deaths occurred among motorcyclists.

In the same period, the percentage of deaths on motorcycles went from 14.4% to 36.2% of the total.

Additionally, according to the Not a Road Death project, 13 pedestrians and four cyclists have died so far in 2021.

Higher speed, worse accidents

One of the demands of the cycling groups is that it be verified that the speed limits are not exceeded.

Since mid-2019, the Government of Mexico City implemented the Fotocívicas system, with which community work is sanctioned when a speed radar detects that a motorist exceeds the established limits, instead of paying a fine. .

Fernanda Rivera, director of Road Safety and Sustainable Urban Mobility Systems of the Ministry of Mobility, assures that work has been done on several fronts to reduce speed and prevent fatal accidents.

"It is a program that can be strengthened, but it has undoubtedly had an effect on people who drive cars," says the official in an interview.

For Areli Carreón, founder of the Bicitekas Association, it is a system that does not work to prevent speeding accidents.

"The proposal of the Fotocívicas, although innovative, has not shown a great result in preventing the incursion of speeding violations and other road risks."

As of January 4 of this year, Semovi has violated more than 449,000 cars, with an average of 1.8 rule violations per car.

"There is a law and a traffic regulation, the problem is that it is not followed," says Carreón.

Public transport against pedestrians and cyclists

Most of the inhabitants of Mexico City move by public transport, but not the one controlled by the government, but rather those that are granted a concession to operate on the streets.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), 74% of the more than 15 million trips in the capital are made by minibuses and combis.

"It is not clear to us how these trucks are still allowed to circulate when they kill people," says Valdovinos.

After Trejo's accident, the government withdrew the permission of the transport company, finding that they did not comply with the mobility rules.

Additionally, Semovi, the Security Secretariat and the capital's prosecutor's office implemented changes to the Traffic Regulations in January of this year, including greater operations to pursue drunk drivers, more speed radars and that concessionary companies have insurance policies that fully cover road accidents.

"Betting on these changes to reduce impunity, attend to victims and work on prevention will help us to have greater road safety not only for cyclists, but for all those who use public roads," says Rivera.

For the Justice for All collective, made up mostly of cyclists and victims of road accidents, these changes are not enough.

"We are going to continue demonstrating until there is respect for everyone's life," says Evelyn Sánchez.

The next demonstration, called for this Friday, has been called revenge Friday.

"It is not a claim only of cyclists, it is a claim of all and we are not going to stop," he says.