Prime Minister determined to curb road accidents

“As Prime Minister, I am determined and have the political will to take necessary measures to fight road trauma, because the road safety situation in our country is unacceptable.” This statement was made by the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth at the first meeting of the National Road Safety Commission held on Wednesday 18 May in Port Louis. The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s determination to address the issues regarding road safety for the citizens and visitors as well. “The rate of road accidents is alarming, with an annual average of 146 persons killed and 481 seriously injured for the period 2005-2014,” he deplored. According to him, the most vulnerable road users are often from the lower socio-economic class and face greater likelihood of injury since the use of affordable means of transport put them at higher risks in comparison to those using private cars. “In addition to the sufferings and grievances of the victims and their families, road accidents have a socio-economic cost which impacts on our economy,” he stressed. The estimated cost of road accidents was around Rs 6 billion in 2015. Underlining the main objective of the Commission, which is the adoption of the National Road Safety Strategy 2016-2025, Sir Anerood Jugnauth stated that the aim underpinning the strategy document is to halve the number of fatal and serious injury road crashes by the year 2025 against the baseline figure of 627 killed and seriously injured for the period 2005-2014. “The challenge is daring but if we put our efforts together and implement the Strategy as it should be, results will certainly follow,” he averred. While recalling that road safety has been declared a national priority since last year, and various decisions and measures taken to attain the target of reducing the number and the severity of road accidents, the Prime Minister put forward the necessity to achieve a safe road traffic system for safe sharing of the road space as well as to improve road safety management capacity.