Tunisia: Call for an independent high-level road safety committee
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2017
There is a need for the creation of an independent high-level road safety committee responsible for the development of a national road safety strategy, according to the President of the Tunisian Road Traffic Association (ATPR), Mr Afif Frigui.
He said that economic losses of TND800 billion (US$350.2 billion) are caused by road accidents each year in Tunisia, reported Direct Info. Motor accidents kill about 1,450 people every year, translating to four persons a day.
Reported road accidents have caused the loss of more working days in the economy compared to labour strikes, according to the Association which lays the blame for the increase in accidents on the lack of preventive action in the country.
Mr Frigui said fragmentation of the road safety portfolio among various ministries is the root of this problem.
On the issue of financing road safety programmes, he said that the Road Accident Prevention Fund, which is contributed by citizens through insurers, falls under the Ministry of the Interior. He stated that no disbursement has so far been made from the fund to promote road safety.
Separately, the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Territorial Development, Mr Mohamed Salah Arfaoui, said that his Ministry is working to establish an adequate road infrastructure. He noted that there is a need to study and revise the entire road safety system and to put in place a clear strategy, in coordination with all the parties concerned, with the aim to reduce the number of road accidents.
TND1 = US$0.44