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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 600 people were killed in traffic accidents across the Kurdistan Region in 2021, with more than seven thousand injured, the spokesperson for the Region's traffic department told Rudaw on Monday as the Region’s fatality figures stand dangerously above other nations.
Last year saw 4,119 road accidents in the Kurdistan Region, of which 662 people died and 7,121 people were injured, Asaad Mullah Karim, the Kurdistan Region’s traffic directorate spokesperson disclosed this week.
According to Karim, the number of cars in the Kurdistan Region is “too high,” and he called on the ministry of transport and communications to control the situation, saying that “if cars increase at this rate annually, it will increase traffic accident and traffic.”
The spokesperson added that their directorate recorded over 1.8 million violations of the traffic laws in 2021.
Car accidents are a common occurrence in the Kurdistan Region in comparison to many countries. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2018, road traffic injuries were the leading killer of people aged five to 29 globally, with an estimated rate of traffic fatalities per 100,00 population in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of 20.7% in 2016.
Another 2016 report by the organization confirmed this trend, stating that in that year, “low- and middle-income countries had higher road traffic fatality rates per 100 000 population (27.5 and 19.2, respectively) compared to high-income countries (8.3).”
Kurdistan Region’s traffic officials have previously blamed the high amount of accidents on drivers’ negligence.
The head of the region’s traffic directorate Abdulqadir Aziz in November told Rudaw that “the roads are not bad enough to be considered the main reason for car accidents.”
Driving without wearing a seatbelt and extensive use of mobile devices while driving are frequent occurrences in the Kurdistan Region.
Seatbelts have been proven to drastically reduce the risk of death and serious injuries in car accidents, with a study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that seat belts reduce the risk of death among drivers and front-seat passengers involved in car accidents by 45%, cutting the risk of serious injury by 50%.
The avoidable deaths of thousands of people every year places a heavy emotional toll on the surviving families, and the injuries sustained by thousands of others places both a financial burden on the Kurdistan regional government, and extra pressure on the health system.
Last year saw 4,119 road accidents in the Kurdistan Region, of which 662 people died and 7,121 people were injured, Asaad Mullah Karim, the Kurdistan Region’s traffic directorate spokesperson disclosed this week.
According to Karim, the number of cars in the Kurdistan Region is “too high,” and he called on the ministry of transport and communications to control the situation, saying that “if cars increase at this rate annually, it will increase traffic accident and traffic.”
The spokesperson added that their directorate recorded over 1.8 million violations of the traffic laws in 2021.
Car accidents are a common occurrence in the Kurdistan Region in comparison to many countries. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2018, road traffic injuries were the leading killer of people aged five to 29 globally, with an estimated rate of traffic fatalities per 100,00 population in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of 20.7% in 2016.
Another 2016 report by the organization confirmed this trend, stating that in that year, “low- and middle-income countries had higher road traffic fatality rates per 100 000 population (27.5 and 19.2, respectively) compared to high-income countries (8.3).”
Kurdistan Region’s traffic officials have previously blamed the high amount of accidents on drivers’ negligence.
The head of the region’s traffic directorate Abdulqadir Aziz in November told Rudaw that “the roads are not bad enough to be considered the main reason for car accidents.”
Driving without wearing a seatbelt and extensive use of mobile devices while driving are frequent occurrences in the Kurdistan Region.
Seatbelts have been proven to drastically reduce the risk of death and serious injuries in car accidents, with a study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that seat belts reduce the risk of death among drivers and front-seat passengers involved in car accidents by 45%, cutting the risk of serious injury by 50%.
The avoidable deaths of thousands of people every year places a heavy emotional toll on the surviving families, and the injuries sustained by thousands of others places both a financial burden on the Kurdistan regional government, and extra pressure on the health system.
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