AMMAN — Jordan has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the region, year on year, according to a 2020 report issued by the Public Security Directorate’s Traffic Institute.
اضافة اعلان
Those aged between 18 and 35 are the most affected by
traffic accidents and constitute 47.5 percent of the total injuries and deaths from road crashes, according to the report.
This age group also recorded the largest number of deaths of any age group at 31.6 percent of the total number of traffic fatalities.
Children under the age of 18 accounted for the largest number of severe injuries, at 34.2 percent all severe injuries due to traffic accidents.
Eighteen to 35 year olds also accounted for the largest number of moderate injuries, at 43.3 percent, as well as the largest number of minor injuries, at 52.3 percent.
Experts stressed that based on these figures, efforts to spread awareness of traffic rules must be sustained, especially since reckless driving habits among the young has emerged as a phenomenon that cannot be overlooked, especially as the number of traffic accidents continues to go up.
“There are many mistakes we make on a daily basis with regard to road safety laws. Those mistakes have become widespread on our roads,” sociologist Hussein Khuzaie, told
Jordan News in an interview.
“The most common cause of traffic accidents are youth. Some of them believe it is bravery not to put their seat belts on, or to drive awfully fast, or even to drift in the middle of the streets,” he said.
Khuzaie said that the young have to know that they are putting every road user’s life at risk, not just their own: “This is nothing but madness.”
“You do not need to be punished or fined before you know that these behaviors consitutute real criminal conduct — as a mature person, you just need to know,” Khuzaie said.
Apart from the danger that should deter reckless driving, surveillance cameras monitor drivers who violate the speed limits, especially on highways, and authorities take the necessary measures against the perpetrators. The highway patrol insists on publishing such violations in the media as a kind of awareness message in hopes of reducing the amount of reckless driving.
An official at the Central Traffic Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told
Jordan News that accidents caused by high speeds are usually “more dangerous and more harmful than others”, stressing the importance of intensifying awareness efforts through various means and in different ways.
They said that “sudden lane changes are one of the reasons behind car accidents. Running red lights and using your mobile while driving also cause serious car accidents.”
Weighing in on the issue, security expert and analyst Basheer D’ajah told
Jordan News that “the youth are more prone to car accidents because they are more active and move about more than other age groups.”
He said that in addition to “youthful indiscretion”, young people are often found speeding, drifting, and switch lanes more often.
“Almost all age categories are susceptible to car accidents, but the youth are the most at risk,” D’ajah said.
The security expert stressed the importance of increasing penalties to deter such conduct.
“In my experience, I noticed that the penalties and sentences for this kind of behavior are not enough. Although the Traffic Law has been modified more than once, we still need to make penalties harsher and more severe, especially for speeding and running red lights,” D’ajah said.
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