Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands — Five road fatalities and 1,711 motor vehicle accidents have been recorded in the Turks and Caicos Islands so far this year. These statistics were announced by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force on Tuesday as part of a broader update on crime and safety.
At the current rate, road accidents and fatalities are on track to match or exceed those reported in 2024 (1,713 road accidents and six fatalities).
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force acknowledged that they have numerous concerns when it comes to traffic and compliance with the law.
“We have persons driving with improper license plates still, persons failing to adhere to street signage, persons driving on the wrong side of the road, persons with excessive tint,” said Assistant Commissioner Dwight Gardiner. “There continue to be persons driving without due care and attention.”
Following Gardiner's comments, Police Commissioner Fitz Bailey acknowledged that road accidents are disproportionately high for the Turks and Caicos, which has a population of around 48,000 according to official estimates. He also announced the force’s intention to conduct “deliberate and focused activities around road traffic accidents”, which may extend into looking into the regime through which people are granted driver’s licenses.
“I see some people driving on the road, and it does not suggest to me that these people went through any formal training to secure their license,” said the Commissioner.
There are approximately 23,386 licensed vehicles in the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to data from the Department of Motor Vehicles for 2024. Residents say that a large part of the country's road safety problems is the prevalence of (and lack of enforcement against) illegal jitney taxis—unlicensed, unregulated, and uninsured vehicles that in some cases are driven by individuals without a driver's license.
Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Arlington Musgrove recently stated that approximately 80 cars are imported each week into the Turks and Caicos, and suggested the Government may want to restrict vehicle ownership to certain persons.
"I don't want to speak for my cabinet, but we may have to start looking at [policies that say] work permit holders below a certain work permit category cannot own a car," said Musgrove. “This would go in tandem with the Government putting out an RFP for public transportation.”
Currently, there is no legal public transportation in the islands.