National Road Safety Authority figures: 349 people killed in road accidents this year - 33 more than 2018 • Highest rise: among motorcyclists • An average of 4 pedestrians killed every 4 days
The biggest increase in fatalities - among motorcyclists // Photo: Oren Ben Hakun
In 2019, 349 people were killed on Israeli roads. This is a significant 10 percent increase over 2018, when 316 people were killed. There were 33 more fatalities in 2019 compared to 2018. Accordingly, a 10 percent increase was also recorded in the number of fatal accidents compared to 2018 - 314 fatal accidents compared to 286.
According to the Revalad data, the increase in road accidents was mainly reflected in three populations: the population of motorcyclists, which saw an increase of 55% (68 fatalities this year compared to 44 last year), deaths from the Arab society with an increase of 19% from last year (111 compared to 93 last year ), The foreign population (those who do not hold a blue identity card, especially foreign workers), who see an increase of 60% (24 fatalities this year compared with 15 last year).
Killed and two seriously injured in an accident in the Golan Heights // Photo: MDA Operation Documentation
In contrast, there was a 10 percent decline in the number of pedestrians killed in 2019 - 88 killed compared to 98 pedestrians killed in 2018.
The data analysis also shows that there has been a 17% decline this year among elderly people (65 killed in 2019 compared to 78 in 2018). The main decline in this population is evident in their injuries to pedestrians, where there was a 35% reduction (30 deaths in 2019 compared to 46 in 2018).
Adv. Rahli Tevet-Wiesel, CEO of Harelabad: "The main target of Harelabad for 2020 is to lead the national program 50 to 30, which is essentially a regulated target of reducing the number of fatalities by 50% by 2030. To that end, A multi-year plan is required to fund all relevant offices, as well as investing budgets that will ultimately save casualties but also resources.
"However, and without taking away the responsibility of the state and the actions required by the various bodies, in order to fully combat road accidents, personal responsibility must be taken and improved the driving culture in Israel. The human cause is a crucial catalyst in this war, the vast majority of accidents occur due to road user behavior."