Parliament: 375 pedestrians mowed down on pedestrian crossings since 2005 including 17 fatal cases

The crosswalks are not necessarily a safe place for pedestrians crossing the road. From 2005 to date, 375 people were struck by vehicles while they travelled pedestrian crossings, better known as the "crossings". A total of 17 of these victims died while 358 survived their injuries.

This is reflected in the Prime Minister's response to the PNQ of Tuesday, June 21 The opposition leader wanted to know the statistics of accidents on pedestrian crossings. A question that follows the tragic accident suffered by Pun Chui Chow Kuong, Sunday, June 19 This 50 year old woman was struck head-on a pedestrian crossing at the Royal Road Beau-Bassin.

The head of government was to insist that the figures show no upward trend over the last decade. He even stated that in general, the number of accidents has dropped dramatically over the past eight years from 9158 in 2003 to 7,049 in 2010. Navin Ramgoolam also said that the number of vehicles on our roads is constantly increasing.

However, the number of fatally injured victims on our roads does not necessarily follow that downward trend. It's the same number of fatalities has even declined slightly between 2000 and 2010.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister revealed that there was no distinction in law between accidents on public roads in general and crosswalks in particular. Navin Ramgoolam believes it is urgent to come forward with amendments to the law so that such accidents should be punished more severely.

In a supplementary question by Paul Berenger, the prime minister pointed out that although the law provides for prison sentences for drivers involved in fatal accidents, most of them n'écopent, however, that of a fine when they are found guilty of manslaughter.

Navin Ramgoolam reiterated at length the measures envisaged by the government and placed under the responsibility of the special unit for road safety set up by its services. A tightening of the law is to be considered in the coming weeks, according to the Prime Minister.