In Mexico, where approximately 57 million vehicles circulate and transportation represents more than 18% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , road safety has become a critical challenge for operational continuity and the protection of lives.
This warning came from Juan Manuel Villafañe , director of Carstore Mexico , a company with 25 years dedicated to developing technology to reduce accidents in commercial fleets.
Carstore was founded in the early 2000s as a company focused on vehicle “accessorization” for automotive dealerships. However, around 2004, its focus shifted towards the design of specialized electronic security solutions .
Its first major client was PepsiCo Foods , followed in 2007 by Safety Mexico , with whom the company made the leap into road safety for large-scale fleets.
Since then, they have worked with insurers and major transport companies such as Lala , Bimbo and Coca-Cola , accelerating the development of technologies focused on reducing accidents.
“The main objective is one: to save lives ,” Villafañe stated in an interview with T21.
According to Villafañe, the growth of the national vehicle fleet, urbanization, and a lack of road safety education have triggered a worrying increase in highway accidents . “More than 90% of drivers exceed the speed limits on federal highways by 30 to 40 kilometers per hour (km/h). The consequences are much more severe accidents,” he emphasized.
The problem, he explained, is not just a road issue: an incident affects the infrastructure, the supply capacity and, therefore, the country’s economy.
Added to this is the lack of maintenance on units and roads, as well as the lack of real training for operators.
“Spain has a similar fleet to Mexico’s, but radically lower accident rates. That shows that change is possible,” he added.
Technology, yes, but applied strategically.
Villafañe identified three pillars to improve fleet safety: active and passive technology; interpretation and training; and constant monitoring of equipment .
The most common mistake in Mexico, he explained, is implementing technology “just because it’s trendy,” without a root cause analysis. This leads to poor adoption, operator resistance, and even device tampering.
“There is no technology in the world that cannot be manipulated. If you install 100 devices and 80 are disconnected due to lack of supervision, it’s as if you have nothing,” he asserted.
When technology is implemented strategically, he stressed, fleets can reduce their incidents by 80% to 90% .
However, the barrier remains human: operators who feel watched, supervisors who do not follow up, companies that install technology without accompanying it with training and culture.
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