Tunisia: Roads in Tunisia 10x more deadly than in Europe
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2016
Tunisian roads are considered among the most dangerous in the world, with a ratio of 87 deaths per 100,000 vehicles. In contrast, European countries report 8-9 deaths per vehicles.
Each year, traffic accidents cause around 1,500 deaths and injure 11,000 people on the roads of Tunisia, according to the National Road Safety Observatory.
The Tunisian Association for Road Safety has estimated that motor accidents cause the country losses of up to TND700 million (US$318.9 million) a year, said a law professor and political scientist, Rafaa Ben Achour, in an article written in the publication Leader.
Prof Achour noted that the General Insurance Committee, which represents insurance companies in the country, has stated that the main issue in the problems facing Tunisian insurance is to look into the structural deficit in the auto industry.
He called for a zero tolerance policy towards traffic offences so as to improve road safety in Tunisia, stressing that more can be done by the authorities. For example, the compulsory use of seat belts has been repeatedly delayed.
TND1 = US$0.46