Iran's Traffic Death Toll Surpasses 20,000 for the First Time in a Decade

The head of the Legal Medicine Organization stated that in the year 1402 (2023), the number of traffic accident fatalities in Iran has exceeded 20,000 for the first time in a decade. Abbas Majidi said on Wednesday, January 12, to the ISNA news agency, "Last year, due to an increase in travel and the presence of inadequate roads and vehicles, the statistics increased." He further mentioned that the situation of the fatalities from these incidents has been reported to the "decision-making centers." However, Majidi did not specify which "decision-making centers" he was referring to or whether these centers have announced any plans to reduce the number of traffic accident victims. The death toll from the Nowruz travel period reached 585. Majidi also stated that the spread of COVID-19 was a reason for the decrease in traffic accident fatalities in previous years. During Nowruz 1402, over 1,200 people were killed in traffic accidents, marking the highest number of casualties during the Nowruz holiday in the past decade. According to the country's road police, over 18,500 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in Iran in the first 11 months of 1402. Iran has one of the highest road death rates in the world. Saeed Montazerolmahdi, the police spokesman, announced at the beginning of Farvardin this year that "the annual death toll from traffic accidents in Iran is equivalent to the total traffic fatalities of 27 European countries." According to Hassan Momeni, the head of the road police, over 80% of road accidents are attributed to four main factors: speeding, illegal overtaking, lack of attention, and fatigue or drowsiness.