Traffic Deaths Decline for 6th Year

Official reports show that the number of traffic deaths reduced for the sixth year in a row last year, according to Traffic Police Chief Mohammad Hossein Hamidi. “The number of casualties in road accidents had dropped by 550 people at the end of the previous year in March, compared to the year before,” he told ILNA. The figure shows a 5% decline. Although small, the gradual decrease over the past six years could be promising for a country where road accidents are among the top five causes of death. “The figures have reached those of the year 1997, when there were only four million cars in the country,” he noted. There are now 19 million vehicles in Iran. Annually, about 20,000 people lose their lives in traffic accidents across the country.