Egypt’s most feared terror network, road accidents, has struck again. Atleast 14 people, mostly, army soldiers have died today after their vehicle collided with a water tanker truck in the Sinai Peninsula near the Suez Canal. The incident happened near the town of Al-Tor in the southern Sinai province.
The African country has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world with an estimated 6,000 people die every year and more than 35,000 get injured. According to the WHO, Egypt has an automobile fertility rate of 9 per 100,000 which is significantly higher than world estimates. According to government sources, due to these frequent accidents, Egypt’s economic loss is around 4 billion Egyptian pounds per annum which is equivalent to $1-1.3 billion (US$).
The problem lies at both the government and civilian levels. Egypt is a growing economy in the Middle-East and infrastructure has developed considerably in recent years but the serious problem of road accidents still requires considerable attention and investment. Many analysts feel that the problem lies on three fronts, engineering, education and enforcement.
At the moment, engineering is of less concern to the Egyptian government as many foreign road building firms with good architectural knowledge have invested in the country leading to the building of good quality roads. The main concern relates to more local issues. The Egyptian government should immediately take steps in educating its citizens regarding driving laws and rules. The country’s car drivers are regarded as one of the world’s worst road rule-breakers. Most of the accidents take place due to driving at night without lights on, illegal u-turns and lack of speed limits.
Enforcement in the country regarding driving rules is one of the softest in the world with no proper traffic punishment rules in place. The traffic police and the general police have minimal intervention rates when it comes to enforcing strict road rules. Although spot fines and on-site ticketing are in place they hardly deter the rash drivers, as they can easily bribe the on the spot traffic police.
The enforcement has to be done psychologically. The Egyptian government needs to take up the issue at the national level. Government officials have to take pains in making every citizen aware of the long-term repercussions of road accidents. If needed, private firms have to be encouraged to improve the situation.
Link: associated press
