Police: Severe road accidents down by 9% in 2019, fatal ones up by 10%
Within the OECD, Israel is among the countries with the highest number of fatalities in road accidents relative to the number of vehicles.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFPolice Traffic Division.(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
The number of severe road accidents in Israel during 2019 registered a nine percent decrease compared to the previous year, but the number of fatal crashes was up by 10%, end-of-year data released by the police on Tuesday showed.In 2019, 1,633 severe accidents occurred, compared to 1,787 in 2018.According to the police, an additional 250 officers were assigned to the traffic division. Overall, there was a 23% increase in law enforcement reports against life-threatening offenses on Israeli roads. A total of 508,000 reports were written, compared to 412,000 the year before.The last in-depth report about decade-long tendencies from the National Road Safety Authority showed that in 2017 about 59,000 people were involved in road accidents, 323 of which were fatal. According to the report, the decade from 2007 to 2017 showed an 11% decrease in fatal accidents, a 31% decrease in light accidents, and an increase of 8% in severe accidents.Within OECD countries, Israel was among the 10 countries with the highest number of road accidents fatalities relative to the number of vehicles: 10.8 accidents per 100,000 vehicles, the 2017 report stated. In contrast, the country has among the 10 lowest rates of fatalities in relation to its population: 4.1 fatal accidents per 100,000 people. According to the report, research findings have shown as a country’s Human Development Index (HDI) increases, the chance of involvement in car accidents decreases. Israel ranks 19th in terms of HDI, showing similar indices to countries in close range.Cassandra Gomes-Hochberg contributed to this report.
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