Killer 2010 year on roads: 160 die in traffic accidents

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), a total of 41,263 vehicles were involved in road traffic accidents during 2010 against 38,058 in 2009 – an increase of 8.4%.

Last year, a total of 21,258 road accidents were reported against 19,542 in 2009, an increase of 8.8%. The number of casualties registered in 2010 went up slightly by 0.4% to 3,677 compared to 3,661 the year before. Among the injured, around 35% were riders of auto/motor cycles, 28% passengers, 18% pedestrians, 4% drivers and 5% cyclists.

The CSO also reported that at the end of December 2010, there were 384,115 vehicles registered at the National Transport Authority (NTA) which is 4.8% more than the 366,520 recorded at the end of December 2009. Last year 21,643 new vehicles were registered while 4,048 were put out of circulation.

Road safety guru Mr Ben Buntipilly is stepping up awareness campaigns in a bid to beat the deadly toll on the roads. The Special Adviser to the Prime Minister told NEWSNOW that his office has recently launched a web site to improve road safety.

“We want to make Mauritius a reference in terms of road safety. This is the priority of the prime minister,” he said. His office has set up a website http://road-safety.gov.mu to provide permanent communication to road users aiming to inculcate a culture of road safety.

“The slogan ‘Ensam Nou Capav’ (Together we can) has been chosen to sensitise the population that road safety is not only the affair of drivers or pedestrians, it’s the whole nation’s concern,” he said.