Although the number of fatalities in road accidents has fallen by about 10%, the death toll is still high • The closure has led to a decrease in fatalities on intercity roads • Full data
Road accident, archive
Photography:
Yehuda ben Yitach
261 people have been killed in road accidents since the beginning of the current year.
This chilling, inconceivable number is just one of the alarming figures revealed as part of National Road Safety Week, which opens today.
Compared to the corresponding period last year, this is a decrease of 26 people in the number of casualties;
However, there is no doubt that these figures, which are correct for last Thursday, should keep sleep out of the eyes of every Israeli.
And that's not all: during the year, there was a 13 percent increase - 125 people - in the number of people killed in accidents on urban roads.
Some attribute the increase to the fact that traffic on urban roads is greater than that on intercity;
This, among other things, is due to the closure during the holidays, and the fact that many did not return to work even after it was removed.
There has also been a 27 percent increase in the number of deaths aged 65 and over - 33 people since the beginning of the year, compared with 26 last year.
59 of those killed in accidents are motorcyclists, eight more than last year;
The 18 dead are scooter and electric bike riders, a number that indicates a six percent increase in the death toll in this group.
Among the pedestrians, 73 were killed, a number that unfortunately remained the same as last year.
As part of the fight against road accidents and the attempt to prevent them, the police are continuing their increasing enforcement efforts.
In accordance with the policy of the head of the traffic division of the police, Superintendent Alon Arieh, the division's police continue to focus enforcement on time offenders.
There has been a decrease in the number of reports given for using a mobile phone while driving: 166,826 reports have been recorded for these offenses since the beginning of the year, compared to the same period last year, when 191,883 reports were recorded. "We will continue to work on roads , Say senior traffic department officials.
Special debates in the Knesset
National Road Safety Week, which opens today, will last until next Thursday.
Every year during this week, the National Road Safety Authority, along with its partners, promotes activities in government ministries, the Knesset, local authorities, the education system, the police and more.
This year, among other things, a government meeting will be held at which the road safety situation will be presented, and on Monday there will be two discussions in the Knesset on the subject: a discussion in the Economics Committee on the lack of a multi-year national program to combat the phenomenon.
Later this week, the annual ceremony will be held in memory of those killed in road accidents.
Itzik Saban participated in the preparation of the article
