Parliament calls on gov’t to restore dilapidated roads

CAIRO - 1 December 2018: A number of parliamentarians called on fixing dilapidated streets throughout Cairo to protect citizens from recurring road accidents.

For his part, the head of the proposals and complaints committee in the House of Representatives, Hamam al-Adly told Egypt today that the government must fix dilapidated roads that need to be developed and rehabilitated in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

"For many years, there have been several dilapidated roads throughout Egypt that were not developed, hence this situation hinders the development process, and does not contribute to a good investment climate. Infrastructure is the foundation of sound investment". Adly added.

A secretary of the local administration committee in the House of Representatives Mohammed al-Dami also called on the government to benefit from the experience of developed countries in reducing road accidents and implementing safety standards.

Dami added that cars accidents in Egypt have increased in recent years due to the lack of safety standards, driving under the influence of drugs, and exceeding speed limits as well as the presence of inefficient roads.

He also stressed the need to tighten road controls to reduce accidents that result in loss in lives, in addition to heightening related-punishments.

Other member of parliament also called on the authorities to tighten road controls day and night as well as always conduct a medical evaluation of drivers and prevent the use of any drug from driving cars because it poses a danger to the lives of citizens.

Thousands of Egyptians die on the road every year due to traffic accidents. Egypt recorded 11,098 traffic accidents in 2017, marking a 24.6 percent decrease, compared to 14,710 accidents in 2016, according to a statement by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Those accidents resulted in the death of 3,747 people, the injury of 13,998, and the damage of 17,201 vehicles, according to the 2017 report released by CAPMAS.
Development of the national road network helped decrease road accidents in 2017, according to the state’s official agency.

Seventy-two percent of traffic accidents in Egypt occur due to human error, according to statistics released by CAPMAS on car and train accidents in 2016.

The country is among the 10 states enrolled in a UN program that aims to half the rate of road deaths by 2020. Since 2014, Egypt launched a number of projects and campaigns to monitor road safety, including building new roads, maintaining dilapidated bridges and carrying out random drug tests on drivers.