Cancún’s $1.6M Traffic Plan Fails to Stop Chaos

Cancún, Mexico — With patrol cars circulating day and night on Boulevard Colosio, the Operativo Carrusel touts a 23 percent reduction in accidents, yet Cancún continues to lead the state in traffic incidents with more than 2,700 crashes recorded in six months.

While the Benito Juárez municipal government allocates millions of pesos for fuel, officers, and vehicles to maintain the Carrusel, experts question its real efficiency and warn that the city lacks a comprehensive traffic policy that addresses the root causes of disorder and reckless driving.

Strategy and Deployment

The Operativo Carrusel is a traffic safety strategy implemented by the Benito Juárez (Cancún) municipal government to reduce accidents on critical road segments. It consists of deploying multiple patrol cars—from transit police, municipal police, and the National Guard—that circulate constantly and uniformly at the permitted speed, leading the flow of traffic and preventing other drivers from exceeding that speed.

The idea is for the patrols to set the pace—70 km/h on Blvd. Colosio—and make drivers conscious of respecting speed limits. During the patrols, the vehicles regroup in a circuit ("carrusel") along the boulevard, while four strategic points along Colosio are ready to provide immediate support. In summary, it is a police "convoy" that guides cars at a safe speed, rather than patrolling specific fixed segments.

Since its launch on June 23, 2025, hundreds of patrols have been conducted. For example, by October, 345 patrols were reported, with 6 patrol cars operating nearly all day from 6:30 to 23:00. Other sources indicate it was expanded to 9 units across three daily shifts covering from Avenida Contoy to the El Trébol overpass. In any case, the patrols circulate during high-traffic hours and remain deployed permanently for the duration of the operation.

Operational Mechanics

Under this scheme, vehicles cannot overtake the patrols, as they set the "tempo" for the lane. If a driver attempts to pass, the patrol car accelerates to cruising speed to prevent it. Thus, all vehicles follow behind the patrols, respecting the established maximum speed. According to local regulations, the limit on Colosio is 70 km/h, and in the hotel zone it varies between 30 and 70 km/h depending on the segment.

The stated objective is primarily preventive: to create awareness among drivers rather than impose immediate fines.

Reported Results and Traffic Safety Context

Local authorities attribute substantial improvements in traffic safety to this operation. In October 2025, the municipal government reported a 23 percent reduction in traffic incidents on Blvd. Colosio nearly four months after Carrusel began. Other sources mention an even greater reduction of 50 percent in accidents combining Blvd. Colosio and Kukulcán since the operation started in June.

For instance, it was reported that by September 24, 303 incidents had been attended to on both boulevards, approximately 150 fewer than usual for that period. These official data suggest the Operativo Carrusel has managed to curb speeding, at least during the hours and segments it covers.

However, the overall traffic picture in Cancún remains concerning. According to the Red Cross and state statistics, 844 people injured in vehicular accidents were attended to in Benito Juárez in the first half of 2025, with an average of nearly 9 crashes per day. The municipality leads state figures with 2,717 crashes registered from January to June 2025. This indicates that, while Carrusel targets key segments, Cancún continues to have high overall traffic accident rates.

Quintana Roo has a population of more than 2 million inhabitants and intense tourist mobility, especially in Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, where thousands of vehicles circulate daily. In this context, 2,717 crashes in six months represent an accident approximately every 1.6 hours. This reflects a significant traffic safety problem, especially in the northern part of the state where more than 70 percent of accidents are concentrated.

Consequently, authorities have emphasized that the operation is part of a broader traffic program that also includes tire inspections, the acquisition of speed radars, and traffic education.

Efficiency and Challenges

In theory, the Operativo Carrusel provides constant police presence and a direct method to reduce speed, which is effective in the covered segments. The patrols "lead" the flow and prevent speed spikes that often generate severe crashes. Additionally, its permanent presence generates a perception of continuous surveillance.

The mayor has highlighted that Carrusel "demonstrated its effectiveness" in reducing traffic incidents, which is why this tactic continues to be strengthened.

However, this approach also has practical limitations. The carrusel only acts where and when it is deployed; outside of those shifts or on other segments, traffic can become riskier again. Furthermore, operating multiple patrols continuously implies dedicating significant human and material resources. The strategy does not solve structural problems, such as road design, comprehensive traffic education, or intoxicated pedestrians or drivers, and therefore must be complemented by other measures.

In fact, the same municipal communiqué exhorts motorists to plan their trips in advance and drive responsibly, indicating that Carrusel is only a reminder of speed limits. In summary, Carrusel functions as a specific brake on speeding but does not substitute for a comprehensive prevention policy.

Costs and Resources

The exact cost of the Operativo Carrusel has not been publicly disclosed, but its implementation requires significant resources. It involves putting several patrol cars into daily circulation with their crews for prolonged shifts. This means expenses for fuel, vehicle maintenance, and continuous police work hours.

For example, considering an average price for regular gasoline in Mexico near 23.4 MXN per liter, 6 patrol cars operating approximately 16 hours per day would consume tens of thousands of pesos in gasoline each day. Collectively, over a couple of months, this easily adds up to just over one million pesos solely for fuel, not counting officer salaries and other expenses.

A calculation updated to four months of operation, based on the same consumption and cost per patrol car, provides a mathematical breakdown. The estimated daily cost for 6 patrols is 13,823.76 pesos. The monthly cost would be 414,712.80 pesos. Over four months of continuous operation, the estimated expenditure solely for fuel for six patrol cars amounts to 1,658,851.20 pesos.

This figure does not include mechanical maintenance, parts, or payment for staff labor hours, meaning the real total cost of the program could easily exceed two million pesos in the same period. This budget comes from the municipal security fund, which for 2025 exceeds 1,000 million pesos. In other words, the operation uses significant resources from the transit and security budget, though these are absorbed within the corporation's general expenditure.

Conclusion

The Operativo Carrusel is a traffic tactic focused on speed control through patrol cars in a constant circuit. According to official data, it has achieved notable reductions in accidents on the attended segments by the end of 2025. This indicates it offers local benefits by "educating" drivers about the 70 km/h limit.

However, Cancún continues to have very high overall incident rates, meaning the operation is only one part of the municipal traffic strategy. Furthermore, it deploys significant resources that are not always quantified per operation. In practice, Carrusel contributes to organizing traffic on Colosio and other critical zones, but its efficacy must be evaluated alongside other measures to have a true impact on the overall traffic safety of Cancún.