He added that this is mainly due to poor roads and bad car conditions.
Speaking at the validation workshop on the National Road Safety Strategy 2020 to 2030 for The Gambia, Minister Jobe said he was aware of the tragic fact that there are about 3000 deaths globally in each day caused by road accidents and about one million per year. He added that there are about 15, 000 injuries per year and a large portion of these numbers occur in the so-called poor countries.
“In The Gambia, we are told that on average, 115 people die annually from road traffic accidents. Police accident statistic indicated that 775 road accidents occurred annually. In addition to the deaths, about 169 people sustained serious injuries each year.”
From 2018 to date, he added that the data indicates a growing increase in the number of fatal accidents, while stating that between 1 January and 1 September 2018, a total of 71 fatal accidents or crashes were reported across the country, 24 of which occurred in West Coast Region alone.
Jobe explained that police report indicates several causes, including poor road conditions, human error, and poor vehicle conditions.
“It is indicated that road traffic injury is the 7th highest cause of death for Gambians aged between 5 and 49, and the 12th highest cause of disability for the whole population.”
He continued that the socio economic cost of road trauma in 2013 for The Gambia has been estimated at USD 63.5 million or over GMD2 billion and is increasing each day.
