Raisi Claims Decrease in Traffic Accidents; Police: Accident Statistics are 'Horrific'

While Ebrahim Raisi claimed that the statistics of traffic accidents during Nowruz have decreased, the police spokesperson stated: 'The statistics of accidents are horrific.' The website 'Khabar Online' reported that the statistics related to road deaths are announced by the police, and supplementary statistics are provided by the forensic medicine organization. This news agency referred to Ebrahim Raisi's presence in the 'Travel Coordination Headquarters' and noted that the head of the Islamic Republic's government considered road accidents to be 'decreasing' but stated, 'We are not satisfied and believe that there should come a day when we have no accidents.' The news website refuted Raisi's claim, stating that even if we compare the statistics from April 4 of this year and last year, there does not seem to be a significant decrease. On the other hand, the commander of the country's traffic police announced on April 4 that 'unfortunately, since the beginning of the Nowruz plan, we have lost 373 compatriots in accidents, and more than 10,500 compatriots have been injured in these few days.' 'Khabar Online' compared this statistic with the statistics from April 4 of last year, where Kamal Hadianfar, the head of the traffic police, stated that by April 4 last year, 385 people had died from accidents, and 7,100 were injured. According to this report, the comparison of statistics shows that the number of accidents and injuries in the first four days of the year has significantly increased. This issue was also pointed out by Montazeralmahdi, the cultural and social deputy of the Islamic Republic's police, who said on April 4: 'Given the horrific statistics of accidents and fatalities, let us try to compensate for the deficiencies in roads and vehicles with more careful driving.' According to the cultural and social deputy of the traffic police, it is more tragic that the annual death toll from traffic accidents in Iran is equal to the total traffic fatalities of 27 European countries. The high accident statistics in Iran have multiple factors, which many experts believe are primarily related to the type of governance of the Islamic Republic and Iran's deviation from development. Experts believe that the low quality of domestic vehicles, disregard for traffic regulations, and the non-standard nature of the country's roads are effective factors in road accidents and the high death toll. However, the Islamic Republic has created a monopoly in car manufacturing, hindering the quality improvement of vehicles and the use of safe foreign cars by the public. On the other hand, road construction is carried out without regard to necessary standards and studies, leading to a form of statistical manipulation.