Road Fatalities Rise in 7 Months

EghtesadOnline: Data released by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization spotlight road fatalities, showing that during the seven months to Oct. 22, over 11,000 lives have been claimed, 2.1% higher than the year-ago period.

News ID: ۷۸۵۱۳۵

15 December 2019

LMO charts show that during the period under review, 11,028 people lost their lives in road accidents. In the seven months last year, 10,799 innocent lives were claimed by road mishaps.

The organization said on its website that the death rate on urban roads increased by 1.8%, with 2,627 killed during the period, compared to 2,580 in the previous year.

During the period, inter-city roads claimed 7,189 lives, 4.3% more than the 6,891 recorded a year before, Financial Tribune reported.

Also, 931 people were killed in suburban road accidents, which is 25.8% higher compared to 740 in the period in the fiscal 2018-19.

Fars tops Iranian provinces with 850 deaths, followed by Khorasan Razavi at 778 and Tehran with 777 deaths.

A closer glance at the figures shows that the road fatality rate in Fars was down 5.7% compared to the year before. The number had decreased from 901 to 850.

Figures in Khorasan Razavi, however, show a 10.8% rise, from 702 road deaths recorded in the seven-month period of the previous year, to 778 this year.

Besides, the death rate in Tehran shows a 1.9% decrease, from 792 in the fiscal 2018-19 to 777 this year.

Ilam, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad provinces had the lowest fatality rates with 113, 149 and 155 recorded respectively in the seven months.

Among the three, the death rate in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiar showed an 18.6% decrease. During the corresponding period of last year, 183 road deaths were reported in the western province.

Ilam and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad reported a 34.5% and 20.2% rise respectively in the number of road fatalities.

The traffic police have long blamed domestic automakers and the Roads Ministry for their inaction and indifference toward road tragedies unfolding on a regular basis.

Dilapidated vehicles used in the public transportation fleet, including urban and inter-city buses, have a big share in road accidents.

Car buyers and the general public for years have censured local manufacturers over the poor quality of cars, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

On the part of drivers, the police names sleep-deprivation (fatigue), overspeeding, wrong side overtaking, running a red light, talking on the cellphone, text messaging and munching behind the wheel, as well as low-quality vehicles and roads, as the main road killers.