Myanmar road safety concern

Concern is being expressed at the rapid rise in road deaths in Myanmar. The road fatality rate has increased substantially in recent years, as has the number of vehicles on the country’s road network. In the period from 2009-2014, the number of registered vehicles in Myanmar more than doubled. And in 2014 the World Health Organisation highlighted its concern that Myanmar’s road death rate had more than tripled in less than 10 years. According to official data, Myanmar had over 15,000 road crashes, 25,000
April 7, 2016 Read time: 1 min
Concern is being expressed at the rapid rise in road deaths in Myanmar. The road fatality rate has increased substantially in recent years, as has the number of vehicles on the country’s road network. In the period from 2009-2014, the number of registered vehicles in Myanmar more than doubled. And in 2014 the World Health Organisation highlighted its concern that Myanmar’s road death rate had more than tripled in less than 10 years.

According to official data, Myanmar had over 15,000 road crashes, 25,000 injuries and 4,000 road deaths in 2015. Rangoon, Mandalay, Pegu and Irrawaddy had the highest casualty rates. Key safety issues include a widespread failure to use helmets while riding motorcycles or seatbelts when in cars. Driving under the influence, using cellphones at the wheel and speeding are also known to be major causes of crashes in the country.

Related Content

  • French speed cameras prevented 15,000 fatal road crashes in 7 years, study claims
    April 8, 2013
    The installation of speed cameras in France prevented around 15,000 fatal and 62,000 non-fatal road accidents between November 2003 and December 2010, according to a study in the international review Accident Analysis and Prevention. The mortality rate per 100,000 vehicles is said to have fallen 42% from 1.86 in November 2003 to 1.07 in October 2010. A second study found that speed cameras were most effective at reducing excessive speed infractions (more than 20km/h over the limit) and moderate speed infrac
    Read More
  • Improved road safety for Germany
    March 11, 2022
    Data shows improved road safety for Germany in 2021.
    Read More
  • Thailand to tackle illegal motorway racers and child road death toll
    May 9, 2012
    Illegal motorway car racers in Thailand are to be targeted with additional radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and surveillance cameras. The move comes after Thai authorities have been tackling high-speed motorcycle racing involving youth gangs, mainly from low-income households. Meanwhile, a new seatbelt law for children is set to be introduced in a bid to reduce the country’s number of child accident deaths. It will make it compulsory for children aged below 15 to use a seatbelt when a passenger
    Read More
  • Safer Roads: More Than Just Progress on Paper
    June 8, 2016
    As the co-chairman of Pillar II (“Safer roads and mobility”) of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, I was privileged to be in New York on April 15, 2016 as the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on “improving global road safety” sponsored by 56 UN member states. By a bitter twist of fate, this resolution came to pass as many countries around the world are reporting a notable increase in injuries and deaths on their roads, including in countries that had seen a steady decline
    Read More

Highlighted Content