Did you know that 94% worldwide of road accidents are caused by human error? 

It’s no secret that Egypt has a traffic issue. In a conference on the role of civil society in finding solutions to road accidents in Egypt, Major General Amr Jamjoum, the executive director of the Cairo Public Transport Project, and the director of the Cairo Traffic Department called for toughening the penalties in the new Traffic Law and modifying them from misdemeanors to crimes. He stressed the need to amend some legislations and laws governing this in line with the strategy of countries for sustainable development 2030. This conference was held by the Transport Committee of the Association of Businessmen and the Rotary Club of Katameya.

Nihad Shalbaya, head of the Nadi Foundation for Safe Egyptian Roads, stressed the need to develop the problem of road accidents within national goals and to work as a unified entity to implement and monitor state policies to improve roads and reduce accidents.

Dr. Ayman Saba, the NDI Foundation for Safe Egyptian Roads, said that the current road safety law is not effective. He called for activating the National Council for Road Safety by including the human race of drivers and dealers directly on roads to limit problems and develop appropriate solutions to road accidents in Egypt.

Amr Ezzat, president of the Rotary Club of Katameya and a member of the Businessmen Association, said there were no deterrent penalties in Egypt due to the lack of strict enforcement of the law.

Ezzat called on all organizations and efforts of the society to put in place a consultant for the development of road safety policies, stressing the importance of working centers for the training of drivers, in addition to activating conditions for obtaining driving licenses and ensuring that drivers pass all tests without any favoritism or mediation.

Here are 10 reasons why we’re glad this issue is being taken seriously:

  1. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road accidents cause about 1.3 million deaths a year worldwide. 
  2. Road accidents are the eighth most common cause of death in the world. 
  3. Road accidents also contribute to deaths of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
  4. The number of deaths in road accidents in Egypt alone amounted to about 8,200 people annually.
  5. Additionally, 18 thousand injuries are caused annually in Egypt due to road accidents.
  6. Road accidents have negative aspects on the local economy, with an estimated one billion dollars annually.
  7. Egypt is one of the highest mortality rates on the roads and not in terms of the number of accidents.
  8. Egypt has a road traffic fatality rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 population.
  9. Majority (48%) of those killed are passengers of four-wheelers.
  10. Pedestrians constitute a significant proportion (20%) of these fatalities.