Data released by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization present a picture of road fatalities, showing that during the first half of the current Iranian year (started March 21), 9,360 lives have been claimed, almost equal to the figure in the year-ago period.
LMO charts show the fatality rate has seen a 0.1% rise compared to the first half of last year with 9,352 reported road deaths.
The organization said on its website that the death rate on urban roads increased by 2.7%, with 2,246 killed during the period, compared to 2,186 in the previous year.
During the period, inter-city roads claimed 6,053 lives, 1.5% more than the 5,946 recorded a year before.
Also, 810 people were killed in suburban road accidents, which is 21.3% higher compared to 668 in the first half of the fiscal 2018-19.
Khorasan Razavi tops Iranian provinces with 682 deaths, followed by Tehran at 656 and Kerman with 603 deaths.
A closer glance at the figures shows that the road fatality rate in Khorasan Razavi was up 10.4% compared to the year before. The number had increased from 618 to 682.
Figures in Tehran, however, show a 2.5% fall, from 673 road deaths recorded in the first half of the previous year, to 656 this year.
Besides, the death rate in Kerman also shows an 8.1% rise, from 558 in the first half of the fiscal 2018-19 to 603 this year.
Ilam, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad provinces had the lowest fatality rates with 69, 126 and 131 recorded respectively in the six months.
Among the three, the death rate in the latter showed an 18% increase. During the corresponding period of last year, 111 road deaths were reported in the western province.
Ilam and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari reported declines (1.4% and 19.2% respectively) in the number of road fatalities.
About 70 and 156 people lost their lives year-on-year in road crashes in Ilam and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces respectively.
The traffic police have long blamed domestic automakers and the Ministry of Roads for their inaction and indifference toward road tragedies unfolding on a regular basis.
Dilapidated vehicles used in the public transportation fleet, including urban and inter-city buses, have a big share in road accidents.
Car buyers and the general public for years have censured local manufacturers for the poor quality of their cars, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
On the part of drivers, the police names sleep-deprivation (fatigue), overspeeding, wrong side overtaking, running a red light, talking on the cellphone, text messaging and munching behind the wheel, as well as low-quality vehicles and roads, as the main road killers.
