Peru Naked Protesters Make A Statement About Traffic Problems

This past weekend, the streets of Lima, Peru saw flocks of nude men and women riding their bicycles to make a statement. And no, the statement has nothing to do about nudity. Peruvians came together in the annual event -- known as "ciclonudista" by Peruvians -- to protest traffic problems in the South American nations and promote pro-bicycle government policies.

According to PeruThisWeek, 600 cyclists participated in the seventh annual protest and rode 52 blocks down Arequipa Ave in the nude. In addition to cyclists, the event drew in protestors on skateboards and rollerblades. And while many participants were fully nude -- the event encourages nudity, states a representative from event organizers Cicloacción, in order to emphasize the fragileness of the human body -- there were also many who were partially dressed.

While nudity grabs the attention of locals and makes headlines, the morbid reality of Peru's traffic problems lies in the numbers. An analysis of road traffic injuries in Peru, published in the online journal BMC Public Health, notes that both the government of Peru and the National Institute of Health consider road traffic injuries to be a public health problem, and have even deemed it to be a top priority issue in the nation. Consider this: Medical journal The Lancet reports that "the leading cause of death for children aged 5 -- 14 years -- who typically walk to school -- and the second-leading cause for people aged 15 -- 44 years."

Experts believe that Peru, a middle-income country amidst a fast-paced urbanization process, lacks the quality of roads that other Latin American countries have since pedestrians were not taken into account when the cities were designed. This, coupled with the fact that enforcement of road safety regulations in Peru are not effective, result in high road traffic injury rates.

It should be noted that these kind of injuries are not unique to Peru, as other countries in the world with similar urbanization and road infrastructure issues face the same problems. As such, it should come as no surprise that one of the leading causes of death, globally, are road traffic injuries, which kill 1.3 million people each year.