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.
October 13, 2017 Read time: 1 min

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.

Related Content

  • Safer Swiss roads in 2019
    April 1, 2020
    Switzerland’s roads became safer in 2019.
    Read More
  • Australia’s need for better road safety
    November 18, 2019
    Australia needs to improve its road safety significantly, according to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA). Despite plans to reduce the road casualty rate from the Australian Government, safety targets have not been achieved. A new report from the AAA has revealed the shortcomings of the safety strategy previously set out by the Australian Government. In 2011 the National Road Safety Strategy was set to lower road deaths and serious injuries by 30% by 2020. However the targets on improving road sa
    Read More
  • The US needs to address its road safety problems
    November 8, 2019
    The US has serious road safety issues that need to be addressed. In 2018, close to 36,600 people were killed in road crashes, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The fatality rate for 2018 represents a 2.4% drop from 2017. In addition, the road death rate/160 million vehicle km traveled also decreased by 3.4%, from 1.17 in 2017 to 1.13 in 2018. And the NHTSA says it is the lowest fatality rate since 2014. Nearly 36,600 people died on US roadways last year, a
    Read More
  • Blip in road safety for Europe?
    July 11, 2023
    Is this a blip in road safety for Europe?
    Read More

Highlighted Content