One person dies in a road accident every half hour in Iran, taking the annual death toll to 17,000, the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization announced.
The organization also said close to 30,000 people are annually embroiled in accidents that lead to paralysis.
The pain of losing a loved one is bigger than the terrible numbers, but the media are usually inclined to highlight the economic losses of these accidents.
According to Majlis Research Center, the research arm of the Iranian Parliament, the costs of road crashes amount to 8% of Iran’s gross domestic product. In the years ending March 2012 and March 2017, car collisions cost the economy 519 trillion rials ($2.1 billion) and 535 trillion rials ($2.17 billion) respectively, a report by the Persian-language daily Shargh reads.
“The aging fleet of intercity buses is in dire need of renewal; it has been years that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is pursuing this plan and has dedicated resources to replacement projects,” said Roads Minister Mohammad Eslami on Saturday.
“No outcome has been produced out of our plans, at least concerning the [renovation of] trucks. There are 55,000 trucks that are older than 49 years. We have a detailed plan and signed deals with factories. No result has been obtained and they should explain why they don’t put in enough efforts into carrying out their contracts. The average age of road fleet must decrease. At present, the average age of buses is around 11 years and that of minibuses is 24 years.”
Gholamreza Khademizadeh, the head of Passenger Bus Drivers Association, told ISNA that besides the dilapidation of road fleet, new buses being manufactured these days use poor technology and don’t have the minimum core standards.
“Authorities at the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, as well as Iran National Standards Organization, and the Consumer and Producer Protection Organization do not exercise enough supervision over the manufacturing processes. As a result, vehicles with subpar quality are being manufactured. Scania [buses] are the telling example of such products,” he added.
Khademizadeh noted that none of the profiles used in Scania buses, the welded points and connection points meet the standards.
“Seat belts that the police department strongly insists on using are two-point lap seatbelts designed for airplanes whereas three-point seatbelts must be installed in buses to keep passengers from hurtling forward or backward, or out of the vehicle during incidents,” he said.
Stressing the role of climate in designing and making vehicles, the official said, “Most buses that are being copied or manufactured in the name of Scania in Iran have been designed according to European standards and their climate. That’s why it’s common to see buses moving on Iranian roads with their engine hood open since May.”
Khademizadeh went on to say that a visit to vehicle inspection centers will show that their procedures are just a formality.
“They might check the tires and windshields at best; the technical manager of the center does not sit behind the wheel to even check the brake,” he said.
“Some officials have not only failed to deliver on renovation promises, they are themselves a barrier in the way of refurbishing the road fleet. Renewal of the fleet is a pressing need but they insist that this must not be met through imports because domestic production is adequate. This is while those who oppose imports must be aware of the fact that only 300 vehicles are being manufactured in Iran annually. At present, there are 7,000 dilapidated buses in the country. By just tapping into domestic potential, it would take 25 years to replace the old buses with new ones and then again the process must restart,” he concluded.
Hassan Karimi-Sanjari, an automotive expert, said buses written off in the European countries and imported at a quarter of their new one’s real price are given a facelift and then become road killers in Iran.
“Dilapidation and technical glitches are the main causes of numerous road collisions in Iran,” he added.
Addressing the new government, Karimi-Sanjari said, “Enough of domestic production. Replacement of vehicles must be one of the top priories of the domestic automotive industry. Today, there is adequate capacity for bus production. However, investing in advanced technology and quality buses is of utmost importance.”
