KABUL (SW) – There has been a record five hundred per cent rise in road accidents in the first six months of 2019 in comparison to the same period last year, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed.
The MoPH spokesman, Nezamuddin Jala, told Salam Watandar a total of 300 people lost their lives and close to 20,000 others got hurt in these accidents. A comprehensive report on this would soon be published, he added.
When contacted, the transport ministry spokesman, Yosuf Khan, said most of the accidents are caused by the reckless drivers. He acknowledged some major highways are treacherous, and tricky to navigate. To address the issue, meetings have been held with the transporters to ensure safety rules and regulations are enforced on the highways.
Head of transport directorate in the capital Kabul, Khan Mohammad Shinwari, said in this regard that rate of road accidents has dropped significantly in major cities, however, the main highways remain unsafe. He also blamed reckless drivers causing majority of accidents while under the influence of drugs.
Shinwari said there are only around 3300 personnel at the disposal of traffic police that cannot monitor all highways across the country.
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