Road carnage claims over 3,000 lives in Iraq in 2022: 26.7% rise in fatal accidents reported

Shafaq News/ The year 2022 witnessed a surge in deadly road accidents across Iraq, with a staggering 11,523 cases reported.

Shockingly, over 3,000 people lost their lives in these accidents, representing a 26.7% increase in fatal accidents compared to the previous year.

According to a statement by the Central Statistical Organization at the Ministry of Planning on Monday, out of the 11,523 accidents recorded last year, 3,079 were fatal, with a fatality rate of 26.7%. The remaining 8,444 accidents were non-fatal

The male population bore the brunt of the fatalities, with 2,474 deaths recorded, representing a staggering 81.9% of the total fatalities. The remaining 547 deaths were female. The number of injuries recorded was also alarming, with 12,677 people sustaining injuries in 2022, a 12.9% increase from 2021.

The main cause of the accidents was attributed to driver error, accounting for 79.2% of the total accidents, while vehicle-related factors caused 8.1%, and road conditions caused 6.2%. Other factors contributed to 6.5% of the accidents. The most common type of accidents was collisions, accounting for 56.3% of the total number, followed by pedestrian accidents at 32.3%, and overturning at 9.5%.

Spokesperson to the Ministry of Planning, Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawi, expressed concern over the increase in accidents and fatalities and urged drivers to be more cautious on the roads.

He also called for more comprehensive road safety measures to be implemented to reduce the number of accidents in Iraq.