Data released by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization reveal close to 4,000 people lost their lives in road mishaps in the three months ending June 21.
The death rate is 3.6% higher, compared with the corresponding period of last year.
A comparative look at LMO charts shows that during the period, 4,028 people lost their lives in road accidents across the country. The figure was 3,889 in the same period of last year.
Of the total lives lost, 1,040 were on city roads, which last year did not exceed 1,000.
During the period, inter-city roadways claimed 2,727 lives, 4.8% more than the 2,602 recorded last year.
In addition, 261 people died in suburban road accidents, which is 9.1% lower compared with last year's 287 fatal accidents.
Notorious for the high road death rate, Fars tops the provinces with 332 deaths, followed by Tehran at 295 and Khorasan Razavi with 262 deaths.
A closer look at the numbers shows road fatality rate in Fars Province was down 10.4% compared with the period of last year, as the figure dropped from 374 to 332.
Figures in Tehran also show a 4.8% fall, from 311 road deaths reported last year to 295 this year.
Unfortunately, the death rate in Khorasan Razavi shows a 6.9% rise, from 247 a year ago to 262.
Ilam, Zanjan and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces had the lowest fatality rates respectively with 24, 50 and 51 recorded deaths in the quarter period.
Among the three, the death rate in Ilam shows a noticeable fall of 30.6%. During the same period of last year, 36 road deaths were reported in the northwestern province.
Zanjan and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari also reported a decrease—respectively 13.8% and 16.1%—in the number of recorded road fatalities.
In the year before, 58 and 62 people lost their lives in road accidents in Zanjan and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces respectively.
Traffic Police have announced that sleep deprivation, fatigue, speeding, overtaking from the wrong side, running a red light, talking on the cellphone, text messaging and munching behind the wheel, as well as low-quality vehicles and roads, are the main road killers`.
Motorcyclists and their dangerous driving habits also contribute to the high number of road victims.
