SIGI calls for strengthened road safety measures for pedestrians

AMMAN — Road accidents caused 571 deaths in Jordan in 2018, 221 of which were pedestrian, the Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) Jordan said on Monday.

SIGI demanded safe passageways for pedestrians, in addition to amending traffic regulations and imposing harsher penalties on violators, whether drivers or pedestrians.

Pedestrian deaths comprise 38 per cent of those caused by traffic accidents around the world, SIGI said in a report, citing the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018, conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

The 2018 WHO report revealed that road accidents are the top cause of death for children between the ages of 5 and 14, as well as adults between the ages of 15 and 29, SIGI reported, adding that the world witnesses 1.35 million deaths annually because of road accidents, with one death occurring every 24 seconds. 

Male and female pedestrian victims of road accidents comprise a quarter of road accident deaths around the world. According to SIGI’s report, made available to The Jordan Times, most cases of pedestrian deaths happen in low to medium-income countries for reasons including bad infrastructure, a lack of safe and proper sidewalks and lack of awareness. 

In 2018, 571 deaths occurred due to road accidents in Jordan, compared to 685 deaths in 2017, with a decrease of 16.6 per cent, according to the annual report on road accidents in Jordan in 2018, which was issued by the Public Security Department (PSD), SIGI reported. 

The PSD report said that in 2018, 38.7 per cent of road accident deaths were of pedestrians (221 deaths), 24.7 per cent were of drivers (141 deaths) while 36.6 per cent were of passengers (209 deaths).

In the statement, SIGI commended the efforts of the PSD and the national and civil institutions that contributed to saving lives through their road safety measures. 

The number of vehicles registered in Jordan until the end of 2018 stood at 1,637,981; an average of one vehicle per six people, SIGI reported, noting the population has reached 10.309 million. 

In Jordan, a road accident occurs every 50.4 minutes, while a run-over accident occurs every 2.5 hours, and a person is injured every 32.4 minutes, whereas at least one death occurs in a road accident every 15.3 hours, according to the institute. 

Collision accidents caused 288 deaths, while run-over accidents caused 195 deaths, and rollover accidents caused 88 deaths, SIGI reported, noting that the total injuries resulting from car accidents were 16,203, of which 1,102 were critical.

The estimated financial losses incurred by those accidents amounted to around JD313 million, SIGI reported, adding that Jordan loses more than JD857,000 daily due to road accidents. 

The human factor (errors of drivers and pedestrians) was the main cause of road accidents, at a rate of 98 per cent, while accidents occurring due to vehicle problems reached only 1.3 per cent and accidents due to the road itself, 0.7 per cent, according to SIGI. 

The most common mistakes that led to having an accident and death were poor preparation and safety measures (37.9 per cent with 170 deaths) and driving in the wrong direction of a lane (36.1 per cent with 162 deaths), according to SIGI. 

The constant violations on sidewalks by shop owners and sidewalk vendors, in addition to the lack of safe passages to cross streets or enough pedestrian bridges, contribute to run-over accidents resulting in death, especially among children, which, SIGI says, could be avoided or decreased. 

Protecting people’s lives is the responsibility of all society segments as well as governmental and non-governmental entities, SIGI said.