The traffic authorities in Villa Clara have intensified their road enforcement operations to , a practice that raises particular concern among the authorities in that province.
The Cuban News Agency reported that the call for traffic discipline comes at a time when Villa Clara is experiencing, as of the end of September 2026, a downward trend in the numbers of accidents, fatalities, and injuries. As a precedent, the province had closed October 2025 with 511 traffic accidents, which is 50 more than in the same period of 2024.
Motorcycles and mopeds —including the so-called electric "motorinas"— play a significant role in road accidents. Nationwide, these vehicles were involved in 52% of accidents and accounted for 32% of fatalities and 42% of injuries, according to data from the National Road Safety Commission for the period from January to August 2025.
Regarding the types of incidents, the head of the Provincial Traffic Unit noted that motorcycles and mopeds account for the highest number of accidents and fatalities, as they are among the most widely used vehicles in the area.
El peligro no se limita a los choques. Between January and October 2025, electric scooters caused 32 fires in the province: 20 en viviendas, 10 en la vía pública y dos en instituciones estatales, con pérdidas estimadas en 95 million pesos.
The current legal framework in Cuba establishes that electric mopeds with a power of up to 1,000 W and a speed of 50 km/h are considered motor vehicles and, therefore, require a driver's license, helmet, and registration.
Article 93 of the Traffic Safety Code expressly prohibits driving without a license or learner's permit, as well as allowing another person to do so. Therefore, the responsibility may extend to the adult who facilitated or consented to that driving.
The regulation also prohibits minors under the age of 12 from riding bicycles outside recreational areas, residential neighborhoods, or low-traffic streets.
The regime has responded to the traffic chaos with a set of regulations in 2026: Instruction No. 1/2026 from the Ministry of Transportation enabled the issuance of operating licenses to individuals who own mopeds, motorcycles, and electric tricycles without registration, under an exceptional regime valid until December 31 of this year, while the established the procedure for the homologation of vehicles assembled from parts and pieces.
The rise of these vehicles has occurred amid the fuel crisis that the island is experiencing: faced with difficulties accessing gasoline and the deterioration of public transport, many Cubans have turned to "motorinas" as an alternative mode of mobility, without the accompanying system for control, registration, and road education growing at the same pace.
The main causes of accidents identified in Villa Clara include "distractions while driving, disregard for the right-of-way, violations by pedestrians, and irresponsible alcohol consumption," according to data from the traffic authorities themselves as of the end of October 2025. By that time, more than 40,000 fines had been imposed, 717 repeat offenders had been sanctioned, and 53 driver's licenses had been permanently revoked in the province.
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