Libya has recorded the highest road traffic deaths at 73.4 deaths per 100,000 population, followed by Iran with 32.1, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed in a paper titled “Global status report on road safety 2015”.
Saudi Arabia has the third worst road traffic death rate in the Eastern Mediterranean region, with a road traffic death rate of 27.4, the WHO estimated.
WHO said that the risk of a road traffic death varies significantly by region. While high-income countries generally have lower rates than low- and middle-income countries, high-income countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have a higher rate than those of their less affluent neighbours in the region (22.5 compared to 19.7) and more than double the average rate of high-income countries globally (9.3).
“This suggests that in some of the more affluent Eastern Mediterranean countries, rapid economic development that has resulted in increased motorisation and road infrastructure construction has not been accompanied by sufficient investment in institutional capacity, nor in the interventions needed to cope with these changes and ensure that roads are safe,” the report said.
Saudi Arabia has the highest risk of a road traffic death among GCC states. WHO’s estimated road traffic death rates for the other GCC members are Bahrain (8.0), UAE (10.9), Qatar (15.2), Kuwait (18.7) and Oman (25.4).
Globally, the highest road traffic death rates are in the African region (26.6 per 100,000 population), while the European region has a rate far below the global average (9.3 per 100,000 population).
Some 1.25 million people die each year as a result of a road traffic crashes despite improvement in road safety, said the report. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury, said WHO.
The key factors which affect road death rates are speed, drink driving, distracted driving, and the use of motorcycle helmets, seat belts and child restraints.