On March 17, 2026, presidential candidate José Williams, of the Avanza País party, participated in the Forum of Candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, held within the framework of the 2026 General Elections. During the event he referred to the problem of road safety in the country.
In that context, Williams stated that “at least 4,000 people die in traffic accidents.”
PerúCheck reviewed the official figures available and found that the number of deaths is lower than that mentioned by the candidate.
According to the National Road Safety Observatory, the entity in charge of collecting information on traffic accidents, the death toll in recent years does not reach 4,000 cases annually.
In 2025, 2,890 deaths were recorded, while in 2024 the figure was 3,002. In 2023, 3,316 deaths were reported and in 2022 a total of 3,328. For its part, in 2021 there were 3,032 deaths and in 2020, a year marked by mobility restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the figure fell to 2,159.
When analyzing these data together, it is observed that between 2020 and 2025, 17,727 deaths were recorded due to traffic accidents. This equates to an average of approximately 2,955 deaths per year.
The data show that, although traffic accidents represent a serious public safety problem, the annual number of deaths has remained below 4,000 people in recent years. In that sense, the figure mentioned by Williams overestimates the number of officially registered fatalities.
PerúCheck tried to contact the candidate to obtain his defense, but until the closing of this note he did not receive a response.
Candidate José Williams stated that 4,000 people die a year in traffic accidents in Peru. However, data from the National Road Safety Observatory show lower figures, with an annual average of close to 3,000 deaths between 2020 and 2025. For these reasons, PerúCheck qualifies this statement by José Williams as false.
This article was prepared by PerúCheck, a media alliance led by the Peruvian Press Council that seeks to combat disinformation. To see the note original click here.
