In 16 years, Nuevo León went from competing with Jalisco for the top spot nationwide in traffic accidents to becoming the undisputed leader in the country, while Jalisco reduced its incidence by more than 70 percent.
Data from the Traffic Accidents in Urban and Suburban Areas statistics published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) show that in 2009, Jalisco led the national ranking with 58,968 accidents, just above the 57,490 recorded in Nuevo León.
However, the situation changed the following year. In 2010, Nuevo León recorded 75,486 accidents, surpassing the 56,644 reported in Jalisco, and since then, it has remained the state with the highest number of traffic collisions in the country for 16 consecutive years.
While Nuevo León consolidated this trend, Jalisco followed the opposite path. The state steadily reduced its number of accidents, ending 2025 with 17,400 incidents—a decrease of 41,568 cases, equivalent to a 70.5 percent reduction compared with 2009.
In contrast, Nuevo León ended 2025 with 71,308 accidents, 13,818 more than at the beginning of the period, representing a 24 percent increase over the same timeframe.
The difference between the two states also widened considerably. While the gap was only 1,478 accidents in 2009, by 2025 it had increased to 53,908 incidents, according to INEGI figures.
The records also show that during the last decade, Nuevo León has consistently remained above 70,000 accidents per year, reaching its highest point in 2015, when 86,465 incidents were recorded.
When consulted by ABC Noticias, Ervey Cuéllar, president of Movimiento Vial Ciudadano, stated that Nuevo León has failed to reduce its figures due to a lack of federal support to subsidize municipal security and traffic departments, as well as the limited willingness of local governments to effectively monitor streets and avenues.
“Traffic officers and police officers were regulated separately. Later, they were merged for economic reasons related to SUBSEMUN (Municipal Security Subsidy), which was discontinued, and now those who used to be traffic officers became police officers; that is why there are no longer traffic officers.
“It seems that the authorities are now benefiting from this situation by turning it into a business activity, an industry, because that generates revenue for the municipality involved,” he stated.
Source: abcnoticias
