On World Health Day in April 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a report under the title of “Youth and safety on the road”. It was prepared as a result to the newest statistics which stated that some 400,000 young people under the age of 25 die every year in road accidents, whereas the number of injured runs into millions. In general, all those who die worldwide in road accidents number 1,200.000, in addition to those who are seriously injured or totally handicapped.
The most horrific figures are the most recent: 1108 accidents occurred in the space of 26 days last July.
Complicated problem
Hussein Abdel-Raziq, regional manager for WHO, affirmed that the worldwide fatality numbers in addition to the 50 million injured—equal to the population of five large cities. “Regrettably, the numbers of injured and handicapped is expected to increase by 65 per cent by 2020,” Raziq says. The problem is exacerbated, particularly in the Middle East which is the second highest number of road accidents after
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Some reasons
WHO defined reasons of road accidents as follows:
· High speed: drivers leave no room to stop to avoid pedestrians or other vehicles. This is a particular problem in the countryside and on desert roads.
· Improper road design: random housing and commercial activity near new roads leads to traffic jams and accidents.
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· Driver fitness: fatigue, drugs, alcohol, driving under age or without a licence, night blindness and careless driving all contribute to accidents. Other factors relate to the vehicle itself such as faulty brakes, not using a safety belt or authorised child seat, and improper vehicle maintenance.
To the rescue
The Health Ministry held a Health and Population Conference to reveal the latest ambulance developments and the ambulance service. Abdel-Rahman Shahine, head of central administration at the ministry, was an eye witness to an accident a few days before the conference on the Wadi Natroun-Alamain desert road. “Hearing about an accident is completely different from seeing one, he told the conference. The accident he witnessed was “horrific”, with 15 casualties. He called the emergency services and an ambulance arrived in six minutes.
A new development plan went into operation two years ago, beginning with the western desert road, the region that includes the