Saudi road accidents killed over 7,100 in 2010

Road accidents killed more than 7,100 people in Saudi Arabia in 2010 as a result of traffic violations and an increase in vehicles on the Gulf kingdom’s roads, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Alriyadh quoted Saudi traffic director Major General Suleiman Alujeilan as saying there was a sharp rise in the number of vehicles in Saudi Arabia in 2010 to peak at nearly 9.4 million at the end of the year.

His figures showed nearly 544,178 road mishaps took place in Saudi Arabia through 2010, killing 7,153 people and injuring 39,160.

“The rising numbers of accidents and casualties have become very worrying and painful,” the paper said, quoting prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, the Emir of the kingdom’s eastern region.

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