Cairo: Fatalities resulting from traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia have declined by more than 40 per cent over the past 10 years, according to an official report.
Some 4,423 fatalities were registered last year due to road crashes in the kingdom against 7,486 in 2014, Saudi newspaper Al Yaum said, citing a Ministry of Health report.
During the same period, injuries resulting from traffic mishaps dropped by over 33 per cent, registering 24,002 injured persons last year against 35,843 in 2014, the report added.
The fatality rate per 100,000 people decreased from 2,644 in 2014 to 1,306 last year, and 12,661 injured people in 2014 down to 7,087 in 2023, according to the report.
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With these rates, the kingdom is nearing the world target of reducing road deaths by 50% by the year 2030.
In recent years, Saudi authorities have toughened road measures and penalties for traffic violations to curb road crashes. Citing a 2023 World Health Organization report, Saudi Minister of Health Fahd Al Jalajel said in May that fatalities from traffic accidents in the kingdom had decreased by 50% while resulting injuries fell by 35%.
Some 4,555 people died because of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia in 2022, according to official figures.
There were 16,962 serious road accidents in 2022, down 6.8 per cent against the previous year, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics said. Those accidents claimed 4,555 lives, with a 2.1 per cent drop compared to 2021.
