Approximately 30 to 35 percent of car crashes are caused by malfunctions in car brakes and engines, Vali Azarvash director at the Headquarters of Safety Inspection Center of Tehran, said.
There are currently 14 fully automated vehicle inspection centers in Tehran “each providing service for city cars in 40 lanes, medium to heavy weight vehicles in eight lanes, and motorcycles in ten lanes. Car owners however do not refer to these centers as required and 70% of the potential of technical inspection centers remain unused,” ILNA reported the official as saying.
The traffic police have proposed new laws to make it compulsory for car owners to renew their safety inspection documents every two years instead of five. If the laws are implemented, people will bring their cars for inspection at shorter intervals. “Frequent inspections will increase safety rates, reduce car crashes, and decrease air pollution,” he maintained.
The documents should be obtained from registered centers only, which are equipped with number plate-sensitive cameras to minimize the possibility of violations, the official said.
He added that most of the violations reported are traced to illegal inspection centers outside Tehran. Legislative bodies and the police must take legal action against such centers. “Any negligence will ultimately lead to endangering the lives of people,” he added.
Awareness Campaign
Traffic accidents on Iran’s roads cause thousands of deaths and injuries every year, and cost the country’s economy billions of dollars, states UNICEF, which together with the Ministry of Health, State Welfare Organisation, police forces, and the Municipality of Tehran, has begun an awareness-raising campaign to help reduce the mortality and injury rates caused by road accidents.
Some of the key statistics which any traffic participant in Iran should be aware of are: The rate of road accidents in Iran is twenty times more than the world’s average. Globally, road traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people every year and leave 20-50 million people injured and disabled.
Among all unintentional fatal injuries inflicted on children under five, traffic-related fatalities are the leading cause of death. Each year, road crashes kill nearly 28,000 people in Iran, and injure or disable 300,000 more.
Every 19 minutes one person dies and traffic fatalities cost Iran’s economy $ six billion every year, which amounts to more than five per cent of the country’s Gross National Product.
Some 25 per cent of all road fatalities are those involving motorcycles; over 60 per cent of which occured because drivers did not wear a helmet and incurred head traumas.
Prevention
By the year 2020, road crashes will rank ahead of cancer and behind only heart disease and depression in terms of life-years lost. Road traffic crashes are predictable and can be prevented.
Many countries have achieved sharp reductions in the number of crashes and the frequency and severity of traffic-related injuries by addressing key issues like checking over speeding and penalizing drivers for violations; mandatory use of seat belts and compulsory wearing of helmets for motorbike riders.
Measures to improve road design and infrastructure include: separating different types of traffic; providing safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists; building pavements and recognizable crossing structures for pedestrians; and reducing traffic speeds by constructing speed bumps, rumble strips and roundabouts.
Many road crash victims die before they reach a hospital because of inadequate emergency services, including medical, fire and police services. Improving emergency services from the crash scene to the health facility and beyond increase the chances of those involved in road traffic crashes surviving, and avoiding long-lasting disabilities and injuries.
