Skip to main content

Morocco faces increasing road safety crisis

Road safety levels continue to deteriorate in Morocco, despite a series of policies introduced by the government and a tougher process of enforcement. The country has a human population of 32 million, along with 2.7 million registered vehicles and last year saw 15,000 people severely injured in road accidents, leaving them with long term disabilities.
August 8, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Road safety levels continue to deteriorate in Morocco, despite a series of policies introduced by the government and a tougher process of enforcement. The country has a human population of 32 million, along with 2.7 million registered vehicles and last year saw 15,000 people severely injured in road accidents, leaving them with long term disabilities. The Moroccan Government has been working on improving road safety but the growing vehicle population is providing a severe test, with casualties continuing to climb. The country introduced its new highway code in 2010, as part of the 10-year road safety plan that commenced in 2004. The aim of the 2004 road safety policy was to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries by 5%/year. The fatal accident rate has risen 50% since 1996 when there were 2,807 road deaths. The probability of getting killed in a road accident has risen from 5.77% in 2010 to 6.29% in 2011. With 1,508 deaths in 2011, cars are in first place in terms of user category. This is followed by pedestrians (1,141), motorbikes (923) and trucks (255).

Related Content

  • Road safety stabilises in France in 2016
    June 28, 2017
    Road safety stabilises in France in 2016 However injuries from road crashes increased by 2.6% in 2016 to 72,645 when compared with the previous year.
  • Joining forces on safety'
    February 15, 2012
    The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomed the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, saying it will enable the European Union to join forces in tackling road safety at a global level. The UN move aims to reduce by 50% the projected increase in road deaths by 2020, and was developed with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 in the world. It demanded action to correct t
  • Safety concerns over cyclists and pedestrian deaths
    February 3, 2020
    A report from the ETSC reveals the lack of progress in improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians across Europe.
  • Rise in road deaths in France and Germany for start of 2014
    June 2, 2014
    The latest official data from France and Germany reveals a worrying increase in road related fatalities for the first quarter of 2014. This follows a period of several years in which the casualty statistics have improved. The preliminary figures from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveal that the number of people killed road traffic crashes in Germany rose by 4.2% to 640 in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period in the previous year.