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Overview:
Fatal crashes on Haiti’s National Road 6 are daily tragedies caused by poor infrastructure, free-range livestock and weak traffic law enforcement. Once vital for trade, the road has become a corridor of grief, claiming young lives in preventable accidents.
FORT-LIBERTÉ — National Road No. 6 (RN6), which runs over 61 miles and connects Cap-Haïtien to Ouanaminthe, is one of Haiti’s most important routes for commerce and daily travel. But in the northeast, it has become notorious as a site of preventable tragedies.
Despite the country’s limited traffic accident data and challenges with real-time nationwide reporting, existing records emphasize the seriousness of the issue.
From 2024 to early 2025, nearly 400 accidents were reported on RN6—also connecting the Artibonite and Centre departments—resulting in at least 40 fatalities—most of them young motorcyclists, according to the Northeast Departmental Police Directorate.
“Every time an accident occurs on the road, a family becomes poorer, a family is in mourning,” said Dr. Garnel Michel, executive director of the nonprofit organization Stop Accident, in a 2023 interview with local outlet Media Precision Info.
These accidents often happen because of structural failures
Cases are not limited to the National Road No. 6. People in nearly every region of the country are paying the price with their lives for a breakdown in traffic management. In Port-au-Prince, for instance, such incidents are common. As recently as Aug. 9, 2025, a road crash killed at least five people on the Morne Canapé-Vert road. Several others were injured in a collision between a trailer truck and a minibus.
The causes of deadly toll go beyond bad luck. Poor infrastructure, lack of law traffic enforcement and unsafe driver behavior all contribute.
Free-range farming, banned in 1962 but still widespread, is one of the main traffic hazards. Animals frequently wander onto the road, with deadly consequences.
“My brother died due to the negligence of the authorities, who allow outdoor farming,” said Lucenie Dorsainvil, whose brother Abed was killed when his motorcycle collided with a cow.
“My brother died due to the negligence of the authorities, who allow outdoor farming.”
Lucenie Dorsainvil, Resident of Fort-Liberté
Other dangers include potholes, debris and abandoned wreckage or disabled vehicles left on the road. “A truck that had been broken down for a long time wasn’t removed,” witness Yvenel Louis told The Haitian Times. “It caused the death of two young people”.
The lack of traffic police makes the problem worse. Without patrols, speeding, reckless driving and drunk driving go unchecked. “If the traffic police had always been there, Rodeney would not have died,” Erlste-go Etienne said, mourning his friend Rodeney Saint-Ilmont, who was killed in a speeding accident on the RN6.
Lives cut short amid the ripple effect
Behind every statistic lies a story of heartbreak. Victims in 2025 included:
- Rodeney Saint-Ilmont, former technical director of Radio Idéale in Ouanaminhe.
- Louis Jean Joseph, a civilian employee at the Fort-Liberté police station, was the father of two children.
- Abed Dorsainvil, a shopkeeper.
- Cardy Jean Henry, survived by her two children.
- Neylu Gabeaud, a young photographer.
- Ans-Guerlin Delmas, 30, a medical student.
“Road National No. 6 is becoming a death row for the youth of the Northeast Department,” said Theluckson Francisque, who lost a close friend in a recent crash.
“Road National No. 6 is becoming a death row for the youth of the Northeast Department.”
Théluckson Francisque, who lost a close friend in a recent crash.
Each crash ripples beyond the victim, striking whole communities. With many victims as primary earners, their deaths deepen hardship in a region already struggling. Most were in their 20s — Haiti’s next generation of professionals, parents and leaders.
“Every time an accident occurs on the road, a family is affected not just emotionally, but economically as well,” Dr. Michel said.
What must change
Experts like Dr. Michel agree with residents that the tragedies are preventable if the state takes responsibility. Proposed measures include:
- A specialized road police unit with proper equipment.
- Enforcement of the ban on free-range farming.
- Road patrols to remove abandoned vehicles and other traffic hazards.
- Public awareness campaigns on traffic safety.
- Investment in road repairs and emergency medical services.
Without these changes, families say, RN6 will remain what they now call it: “death row.”