The socio-economic impact of road accidents was the subject of a presentation under the theme “Road safety: Assessment and prospects” by the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) at the level of the infrastructure commission. , Energy, Minerals and Environment in the House of Representatives.
According to the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA), road accidents cause approximately 3,500 deaths annually, and more than 10,000 serious injuries, which generates a heavy economic and social cost estimated at 1.7% of equivalent GDP. of 19.5 billion dirhams per year. Adding that these figures harm the image and reputation of the country as well as sustainable development.
The presentation provides figures for the year 2020 which revealed the registration of 84,585 accidents, including 2,728 fatal accidents, in which 3,005 people died, while the number of serious injuries reached 8,221, highlighting that the national road safety strategy has helped reduce accident rates and fatalities.
The first national road safety strategy was put in place in 2003. As a result, more than 10,000 human lives have been saved thanks to the implementation of these strategies.
In this sense, the strategy has saved 2,700 lives between 1996 and 2015, and 2,800 lives between 2015 and 2021, a decrease of minus 25%. By 2026, it should save approximately 1,900 lives, that is to say by reducing the mortality rate due to road accidents by less than 50%.
The presentation focused on the measures put in place recently to reduce the rate of road accidents, starting with the strengthening of fixed speed cameras with more than 650 speed cameras, including 552 new generation. These make it possible to detect violations of non-respect of the red light, crossing the continuous line and walking on prohibited lanes. They also make it possible to distinguish between light vehicles, heavy vehicles, the authorized speed for each category, as well as to monitor the average speed of vehicles with road sections extending over several kilometers at road level.
Among the programs recently implemented is the Special Program for Road Safety Improvements (PSAS) in 2017, for an amount of 2.2 billion dirhams, the increase in premiums for the fleet renewal program, the launch of the support program for the training of professional drivers, with an annual budget of 100 million dirhams.
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