The annual report of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on car and train accidents showed a significant increase in 2013 compared to 2012.
There were 15,578 car accidents in 2013 that claimed the lives of 6,716 people and injured 22,411 others, an increase of 0.4 percent from 2012 where there were 15,516 accidents that killed 6,424 people and injured 21,608 others.
And there were 781 train accidents in 2013 versus 447 in 2012, an increase of 75 percent attributed to faults in crossings.
The report also showed that 50 percent or 3,200 fatalities of the death toll were young people killed every year on the roads.
Human error accounted for 65 percent of the causes, followed by 18 percent from technical conditions of vehicles.
The highest rate was on the Helwan-Koraymat road, with a rate of 5.7 deaths and injuries per accident, followed by the Ring Road with 1.7 deaths and injuries per accident.
Transport Minister Hani Dahi obtained a decision from Cabinet to close some 4,000 illegal railway crossings and allocate a closed lane for trucks on highways.
“The harsh penalties stipulated in the new traffic law should limit accidents,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
