TEHRAN – The country burdens heavy loss of 51 billion rials (around $1.2 million) per fatal road crash, Seyed Kamal Hadianfar, Traffic Police chief has announced. He explained that during the first 4 months of this year (started March 21), 53 percent of people get killed immediately at the crash scene, while 6 percent of deaths happened on the way to hospitals.

“Some 40 percent of the injured also lost life in the hospitals,” he regretted, Tasnim reported on Monday.

Since the beginning of summer, traffic-related accidents increased by 0.7 percent, he said, adding, trips also increased by 5 percent during the aforesaid period compared to spring.

Over the first 4 months of this year, car rollovers reached 25.7 percent which in some days raised up to 49 percent, he stated, adding, 59 percent of drivers, 27 percent of motorcycle riders, 7.3 percent of light-duty trucks and 0.09 percent of public transportation drivers were to blame for the accidents.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he noted that over the past five months, some 1.1 million driving licenses have been issued which dropped by 11 percent compared to the same period last year.

Each fatal accidents incurs a loss of 51 billion rials (about $1.2 million) for the country, he said, adding, traffic-related accidents claim lives of 45-65 Iranians per day.

He went on to regret that last year road crashes casualties amounted to 17,365 which brought huge economic burden of nearly 850 trillion rials (around $20 billion) for the country.

This year, some 113,000 fatal crashes happened in the country which demonstrates a 116 percent increase compared to the same period last year, he highlighted.

 He further called on related organizations to cooperate in this regard and raise public awareness as well as taking steps to reduce road casualties.

Nearly 1.25 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults aged 15-44, according to World Health Organization.

Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. These losses arise from the cost of treatment as well as lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who need to take time off work or school to care for the injured. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

WHO highlights that road traffic injuries can be prevented. Governments need to take action to address road safety in a holistic manner. This requires involvement from multiple sectors such as transport, police, health, education, and actions that address the safety of roads, vehicles, and road users.

Effective interventions include designing safer infrastructure and incorporating road safety features into land-use and transport planning, improving the safety features of vehicles, improving post-crash care for victims of road crashes, setting and enforcing laws relating to key risks, and raising public awareness.

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