Saudi has world’s highest road child deaths

Nearly 5,000 children were killed in car accidents in Saudi Arabia in 2008, the highest child death rate on roads, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

More than 20,000 children were also injured in the Gulf Kingdom as a result of road mishaps caused mainly by excessive speed and other traffic violations, Shams said, quoting Dr Abdul Rahman Al Aznzi, head of the brain surgery section at the University Hospital in the eastern town of Khobar.

“These figures show that Saudi Arabia has the highest rate of child deaths resulting from road accidents,” he said.