TEHRAN – Traffic-related accidents have claimed the lives of 8,644 Iranians during the first six months of this year (March 21-September 21), which shows an increase of 9.6 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Legal Medicine Organization.

In other words, an average of 46.5 people a day die in traffic accidents in the country. Of the total casualties of the accidents, 6,946 were men and 1,698 were women, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

In the aforementioned period, the highest casualty rates were related to provinces of Fars, Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, respectively, and the lowest to Ilam, Qom, and Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad.

An average of 46.5 people a day die in traffic accidents in the country. Some 159,924 people were injured in traffic accidents and referred to forensic medicine centers, which increased by 9.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Some 117,598 of the wounded were men and 42,326 were women.

Car crashes responsible for 1.3m deaths annually

According to the World Health Organization, every year the lives of approximately 1.3 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury.

Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users including, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Some 93% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries have approximately 60 percent of the world's vehicles.

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years.

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