Saudi traffic accidents cause Dh50bn loss a year

Traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia cause an average loss of SR50 billion (Dh50 billion) in public and private property, one of the highest levels in the world, a Saudi university professor was quoted on Thursday as saying.

Despite efforts by authorities to curb accidents, they have steadily increased over the past years mainly because of the lack of awareness by the drivers to stick to traffic rules, said Najah Al Qarawi, dean of the faculty of community and sustainable development at the Dammam University in East Saudi Arabia.

Quoted by Sabq newspaper, she said that deaths caused by road accidents have sharply risen over the past decade, adding that such mishaps are now the second main cause of deaths in the Gulf Kingdom.

“Besides human losses, these accidents cost the Kingdom nearly SR50 billion a year in damaged public and private property…these do not include the adverse effects on productivity because of deaths and disability cases caused by these accidents.”

She provided no accident figures but a recent police report showed the Kingdom there were more than 162,000 road mishaps in the first four months of 2014, an average of nearly 1,350 accidents a day.

The accidents killed 2,434 people, a daily average of around 20. They also resulted in nearly 12,200 injuries, according to the report.

Saudi Arabia, with a population of around 30 million, has one of the world’s worst traffic records along with other Gulf countries.

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