GCC road deaths: one every hour

Gulf oil producers surpassed the United States in deaths caused by road accidents which inflicted losses of more than $19 billion on them in 2008, according to a study published in Saudi newspapers.

An average one person in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is killed in road mishaps every hour and lack of awareness about road discipline is the main reason for these disasters, said the study, authored by Abdul Jalil Al Saif, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shura council (appointed parliament).

In 2008, car crashes killed 9,049 people in the GCC, nearly 28 per cent of the road deaths of about 32,000 in the Arab world and around 0.7 per cent of the world’s total road casualties of nearly 1.2 million, Al Saif said.
In the GCC, the richest group in the Arab region, an average 25 people were killed in road accidents every day in 2008, or one casualty every one hour.

“If we compare the number of casualties in road accidents in the GCC and the United States, we find that the GCC countries are ahead of the US despite the much higher number of cars operating in the US,” he said.
His figures showed road mishaps killed 24 per 100,000 people in the GCC during that year compared with 21 per 100,000 people in the US.

“Despite the strenuous efforts undertaken by GCC authorities to improve road safety and curb mishaps, such accidents have remained very high mainly because of lack of awareness about road safety rules,” the study said.

“The number of accidents in the GCC in 2008 was as high as 637,000, an average 52,400 accident every month, 1,747 every day and an average 73 accidents every hour…these accidents inflicted heavy losses on the GCC, estimated at nearly $19.1 billion during that year alone.”

The study showed the GCC losses accounted for around 76 per cent of the total Arab road accidents losses of about $25 billion and nearly 3.7 per cent of the global losses of an estimated $518 billion in 2008.

The study said another reason for the rise in accidents in the GCC was the large increase in the number of vehicles, which it estimated at around 12.3 million at the end of 2008. A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia, by far the largest GCC member, accounted for nearly 76 per cent of the total road accidents in the GCC, followed by Bahrain with 11 per cent, Kuwait with 10 per cent. The UAE, Oman and Qatar had much fewer accidents in the region in 2008.

The study showed nearly 64,000 people were injured in road crashes in the GCC in 2008, an average 7.3 persons every hour.

Saudi Arabia was the main victim, with the number of its road casualties standing at nearly 36,000, accounting for around 57 per cent. The UAE came second with around 12,000 injuries accounting for 19 per cent.

As for deaths, Saudi Arabia also suffered most, recording 6,458 victims in 2008, nearly 71 per cent of the total. The UAE accounted for around 12 per cent and Oman for nearly nine per cent, according to the study.

“Deaths caused by road accidents averaged 3,288 daily worldwide while it averaged 88 in the Arab world and 25 in the GCC,” it said.

“In the GCC, human errors were the main cause of these road losses and catastrophes…lack of awareness is the main factor for such errors, including excessive speed, negligence, jumping the red lights and other offences…it is time that GCC authorities pool their efforts to resolve the root causes of these tragedies…one solution should include a revision of the present policies of penalties and law enforcement…one crucial step that should be taken is that interferences and mediations by any one in traffic penalties must be halted.”

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