26 Traffic accidents kill 12 people and injure 39 in one day

Twelve people perished and thirty-nine injured in 26 traffic accidents only in one day (Tuesday) in Algeria, the National Gendarmerie services, said on Wednesday.

•  The most dangerous accident killed three members of the same family and caused injuries to seven people on the national highway n° 163, El Taref, east of Algeria, following a dangerous over speed.
• According to the same services, the other fatalities occurred in Bouira, Msila, east of Algiers, and Naama, Ouergla, south of Algeria, and Tebessa, east of Algeria.
• Previously, Algeria is considering banning old vehicles from the streets and tightening the rules of the road in a bid to stop an upward spike in the number of traffic fatalities.
• Algeria already leads the Arab world in traffic accidents.
• Government officials are also concerned about accidents caused by public transport. Official reports claim that accidents are often caused by ageing buses and unskilled drivers. Now authorities are looking to impose stricter tests on those seeking a bus driver’s licence. They are also mulling replacing older buses with newer models and reorganising the entire transport sector.
• “This goes not only for old cars but also for the technical checks, which need to be enforced every 12 months, dear trustworthy experts. And, we also need to reinforce roadway security because the drivers drive without respecting the rules of the road”, Malek 30 driver says.
• “Honestly, the situation is catastrophic on Algerian roads in terms of traffic accidents. Every day, we hear or see the tragedies of these accursed accidents. Algeria has adopted a traffic law inspired by the French law, with modifications specific to the country of the latter. These changes were approved by some Arab countries, in spite of the results of accidents, and implemented. If we say that Algeria is leading Arab countries in the number of road accidents we shouldn’t forget the real causes behind this. Are old cars really the cause of the upward spike? A simple, ordinary individual can’t believe this, because most of what he or she sees is the behaviour of new cars, which can be described as pliable cardboard”, Samir 40 said.
• “I am a driver. I do not understand all of the measures the government is making. There are always more punishments and always more deaths. This has to do with the driver’s licence. I think the biggest problems come from people who get their driving licences without knowing how to drive. So, the real problem is not speeding, but more the absurd techniques we use to teach people how to drive. I have had a drivers licence for nine years. I have never had an accident, but I have been pulled over four times. I do speed. May God protect me. Today’s drivers have not mastered the car and have no reflexes. I would just like to know what job our highway patrol does. What is their job? We get cited by them, but they do not do anything, they just tell you not to go to slow or talk on your mobile”, Malek 50 said.