Myanmar’s poor road safety – cause for concern

Myanmar’s road safety remains a serious cause for concern. Some improvements have been seen in recent times, but more work needs to be done. There were 74,442 road crashes in Myanmar between the start of 2013 and August 2017. These resulted in 122,520 serious injuries and 28,502 fatalities according to data from the Myanmar Police Force. From January to August 2017, there were 12,250 crashes and 3,556 road fatalities, with 49% of the crashes involving motorcycles. The number of vehicles using Myanmar’s road network has increased following the relaxation of import duties in 2011. Overall, the ratio of fatalities from crashes to vehicle numbers has at least seen an improvement. However the country intends to lower road deaths further, having set a target of cutting fatalities by 50% for 2020, compared with the figures for 2014.