Nearly 600 dead, over 6,000 hurt in 2019 traffic accidents in Kurdistan Region
Some 6,080 drivers or passengers have been wounded and another 575 killed in a total of 4,400 traffic accidents that took place in 2009 across the Kurdistan Region, the Traffic Police General Directorate said on Friday.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Some 6,080 drivers or passengers have been wounded and another 575 killed in a total of 4,400 traffic accidents that took place in 2009 across the Kurdistan Region, the Traffic Police General Directorate said on Friday.
The police have also logged close to 380,000 separate traffic violations in the same period.
According to numbers provided by local officials, 180 out of those who perished in 2019 were killed in 1,247 incidents that occurred in the province of Sulaimani.
Related Article: Traffic accidents kill 180, injure hundreds in Kurdistan's Sulaimani in 2019
The number of deaths is down from 2018 when the authorities reported 602 people had been killed been wounded in car accidents across the Kurdistan Region.
Police officials have repeatedly said that a significant cause for traffic violations and accidents is the lack of awareness and distracted driving by drivers, especially those who disregard traffic rules and regulations.
However, poor road quality, as well as inadequate traffic laws, have also been blamed.
As part of its agenda, the new Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) cabinet says it plans to renovate and construct two-lane roads linking provinces and large cities in the Kurdistan Region with construction in some areas already reportedly underway.
Editing by John J. Catherine
