Egypt launches intensive traffic checkpoints to deter driving under influence of drugs

CAIRO – 2 March 2019: The General Administration of Traffic has launched intensive traffic police checkpoints to deter and reduce the number of individuals driving while on drugs.

The authority has intensified the radar checkpoints and have deployed road traffic relief vehicles, SUVs and motorbikes. Traffic management has also enhanced the presence of traffic services on the roads, to intensify and spread the monitoring of axes, to prevent traffic.

By doing this, Egypt aims to do two things: Reduce the amount of accidents and tackle the drug problem in Egypt.

Mitigating traffic accidents

Since August 2014, Egypt has launched the National Roads project that is set to boost the country’s roads nationwide. The project will include fixing and developing already existing roads and bridges, as well as building new ones.

At a cost of LE 36 billion, Egypt will increase its roads in kilometres from 24,000 to about 29,000. Most prominently, the government has focused on highways, like the 400-kilometer one between Cairo and Assiut, a new 37-kilometer link parallel to the Cairo – Suez highway, the Khatatba Axis Bridge and the Benha Bridge.

It is expected that all road developments within this project will be complete by 2020; the roads established as a result of this project will constitute about 20% of all roads in Egypt.

This courageous and long-awaited move by the Egyptian government has come as a saviour to the Egyptian people who have witnessed an increase in road accidents over the past few years.

Since the improvements have started, traffic accidents within the country have gone down by approximately 3,600 accidents annually, according to a March 2018 report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The 24.5% year-on-year decrease between 2016 and 2017 have left the number of incidents at 11,100; in 2016, Egypt witnessed 14,700 traffic accidents.

Furthermore, the intensity of collisions have decreased. In 2016, 5,300 individuals lost their lives as a result of road traffic accidents and 18,600 were injured; meanwhile, in 2017, 3,700 individuals lost their lives and 14,000 were injured. Although not at all perfect, there is a significant improvement that came hand-in-hand with the road improvements.