Traffic accidents worry road safety group

An Or Yarok spokesman said it was unfortunate that the downward trend in road injuries of the past four years seemed to have stopped.

Significantly fewer people were injured in car accidents in the north in 2007 than in 2006, reports www.local.co.il. But the downward trend seems to have stopped in the first half of 2008, says the Or Yarok non-profit road safety organization, which released the figures recently. According to the report, 7,306 people were injured in car accidents in northern Israel in 2007, compared with 8,126 in 2006, a fall of 10.1 percent. Falls were recorded in most northern cities, including Nahariya, Acre, Tiberias, Kiryat Shmona and Tivon. In Haifa, the biggest northern city, the number of injuries caused by road accidents fell from 1,627 in 2006 to 1,450 in 2007, a fall of 10.8 percent. But the number of injuries caused by car accidents actually rose in several cities, among them Carmiel, Upper Nazareth, Afula and the Krayot. An Or Yarok spokesman said it was unfortunate that the downward trend in road injuries of the past four years seemed to have stopped. He said local authorities were making "appropriate efforts" to fight traffic accidents, and he hoped the second half of this year would once again see a reduction in road accidents and injuries.