A car accident happens every 10 minutes in Kuwait, traffic safety officials said.
“We are facing a dramatic increase in human, social and economic losses as a result of the hike in the number of accidents in the country,” Bader Al Matar, the head of the Kuwaiti Traffic Safety Society, has said.
“We have six accidents every hour on average and the figures for June are tragic. We had 40 deaths, nine Kuwaitis and 31 expatriates, and the figure included eight women. We are truly worried and there is a need for prompt and decisive action to end this haemorrhage on our roads. We are deeply afraid about what lies ahead.”
“We have to appreciate and implement that prevention is more significant than cure and we need strategies that work. We also need a better traffic culture in which Kuwaiti citizens and foreigners are fully committed to rules and regulations on the road and to ensuring their cars are truly fit for the road. They need to do away with their mobiles whenever they are driving,” he said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Kuwaitiyah.
According to recent traffic figures, 2,366 accidents were recorded in Kuwait from 2012 until the first half of 2017.
Jumping red lights, excessive speed and the use of mobiles topped the causes of the accidents that occurred in 2017.
Recklessness and lack of responsible behaviour were also cited among the major causes of road crashes.
Despite strenuous efforts by traffic authorities to instill a better driving culture and bring down an infamous world ranking in accident averages, the figures indicate that the task is far from simple.