Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.16
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Road fatalities loss in Iran is tantamount to 8 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
The official of Iranian Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization Javad Hedayati said some 28,000 people were killed during road accidents in the country in Iranian year of 1385 (March 2006-March 2007), Iran's Fars news agency reported on November 16.
For the third consecutive year, the number of fatalities decreased to 18,000 in the previous year, he noted.
Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi said on November 10 that road accidents take a heavy toll, hence, "national will" is needed to reduce accidents and improve road safety.
He added that road fatalities are terribly high in Iran, killing 17,000-18,000 people per year.
Akhoundi said undoubtedly, improving road safety is a public responsibility and all the ministries, organizations, institutions and car manufacturers have to cooperate to reduce road accidents.
Pointing to harmful side effects of deadly road accidents on people's life, he said for instance as a result of the death of a father, the whole family is left vulnerable economically.
He added that teaching the students to observe traffic laws can play a remarkable role in reducing road accidents and improving road safety.