In 2022, there was an increase in the number of fatal road accidents.
Thus, according to the annual report of the “National Road Safety Authority” which was published recently. This figure is less surprising to us. It is also not surprising that the increase in fatal accidents is spread and includes heavy vehicles, private vehicles, and pedestrian injuries.
It goes without saying that the human factor plays a major role. So, it is true that the state of the infrastructure has an effect on the data, but there are solutions and not only in the field of infrastructure but also in the field of driver’s behavior.
And if you are still looking for a ray of optimism, it turns out that specifically in the field of tiny vehicles there was no increase in the past year (although it is difficult to see this as a trend).
A Summary of the year on the roads in the next article.
Key insights from the report:
– 348 people were killed in approximately 316 fatal accidents, a figure that represents a 4% decrease in the number of fatalities compared to last year when 341 people were killed on the roads in 304 fatal road accidents.
– 33% increase in fatalities in fatal accidents involving a heavy vehicle: 157 people were killed this year in accidents involving a heavy vehicle compared to 118 fatalities on average in 2019-2021.
– 30% of the fatalities are pedestrians, 28% are private car users, and 22% are motorcycle and scooter riders.
– 105 pedestrians were killed this year, an increase of 18%, which is a record for pedestrian injuries in five years.
– 12 fatalities among electric bicycle riders, eight fatalities among regular bicycle riders, and four fatalities among electric scooter riders.
Every three days a pedestrian is killed, and every four a passenger in a private car
Pedestrians in Israel are at constant risk. If in the past crossing a road concentrated the most attention, today the main risk comes from other places, which require attention and renewed preparation.
The change in traffic flow in the public space, which now includes tiny vehicles such as scooters and electric bicycles alongside large means of transportation such as the subway and the light rail, undermines the order we have been accustomed to for years and creates a new reality for all of us.
In 2022 alone, a five-year record was broken in the number of pedestrians killed on the roads – 105 pedestrians were killed compared to an average of 89 killed in 2019-2021. Of these, the population that is most affected, similar to previous years, is the elderly population, with 41 deaths in 2022 compared to an average of 37 deaths in the previous years.
It is therefore not surprising that the most common offense committed this year by drivers in serious traffic accidents is failure to yield the right of way to pedestrians, followed by failure to obey traffic lights.
After the pedestrians, the main victims are the private car drivers, although in this area a slight improvement trend was recorded with a 14% decrease in the number of fatalities this year compared to the average in 2019-2021.
Every week a child or teenager is killed
Road accidents involving children and teenagers, as well as road accidents involving scooters and electric bicycles, have unfortunately become commonplace. Children and tiny tool riders are injured on a weekly basis on the roads and require attention and immediate and implementable solutions.
We often hear about shuttle drivers who are distracted from the road due to careless and dangerous use of their mobile phones while driving, drive at a higher speed than allowed in pick-up areas and ignore traffic lights and traffic lights. These phenomena resulted in the fact that in 2022, every week a child or teenager will be killed while using the road.
At the same time, in the field of scooters and electric bikes, there is a noticeable improvement: with the introduction of regulations for monitoring small tools through license plates, and distributing fines to users who park their tools in violation of the law, there has been a 23% decrease in the number of deaths in the past year compared to the average of the last two years.
A 33% increase in traffic accidents involving heavy vehicles
Accidents involving heavy vehicles are particularly destructive, both in terms of physical damage to the body and the scope of damage to property. These accidents, primarily involving buses and trucks, claimed the lives of 100 people in 2022 – about 7% of the total deaths in road accidents that year.
Apart from inadequate infrastructure, the main reasons for the recurrence of traffic accidents of this type are non-compliance with right of way and traffic regulations, proliferation on the road, excessive speed, illegal overtaking, driving against traffic, and of course- engaging with mobile devices while driving.
Education, explanation, and improvement of infrastructure are only part of the necessary processes to achieve a significant reduction in road accidents in general, and in those involving heavy vehicles in particular. Therefore, the use of advanced technological tools should also be added, which will help solve the problems they create themselves.
May 2023 be better and safer for us on the roads.
