Iraq records nearly 7,000 traffic accidents in less than a year
Decades of conflict and endemic corruption have left much of the country’s road infrastructure impaired.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The top Iraqi traffic authority announced on Monday that about 7,000 car accidents have been reported since the beginning of 2022, according to the government media.
The main factors that have contributed to the incidence of the 6,878 traffic accidents since January include lack of safety measures in cars, driving under influence, and the troubled infrastructure, Brigadier Ziyad Al-Qaisi, the spokesperson, for the traffic authority told state media.
"If the driver adheres to traffic instructions and if the vehicle meets the conditions of durability and safety, and the road is regular, there will be no traffic accidents,” the official explained.
More than 4,800 people died in traffic accidents in Iraq in 2021 alone, according to figures published by the health ministry.
“Iraq is at the forefront of countries in the world in road accidents,” a health official told state media in July this year.
Decades of conflict and endemic corruption have left much of the country’s road infrastructure impaired.
The lack of public transportation system in the country force citizens to heavily rely on personal vehicles for commuting.
In the capital Baghdad, in which eight million live, the number of vehicles since 2007 surged from 350,000 to more than 2.5 million, a municipality spokesperson told AFP in June.
