The region with the world’s deadliest roads contains only 4% of the world’s vehicles

A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that Africa has the highest proportion of vehicle deaths, even though it does not have as many vehicles or roads as other regions.

The continent has a record ratio of 19.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, making it the region with the deadliest roads in the world.

At the same time, Africa is also home to only about 4% of the world’s cars, but still accounted for 19% of road deaths last year.

According to the report, such dramatically high numbers stem from unsafe habits, excessive speeding and drinking, as well as poor infrastructure, few lifeguards and old cars.

According to experts, the main causes of road accidents and deaths in Africa — where 620 road deaths occur every day — are exacerbated by bad roads, outdated vehicles, poor prosecution and a lack of emergency services.

“What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, former head of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile and now the United Nations (UN) special envoy for road safety.

The continent is the only region where road traffic deaths increased between 2010 and 2021 — up 17% to 226,100. The spike was seen in more than half of African countries (28 out of 54).

The biggest victims are pedestrians, accounting for a third of deaths due to a lack of adequate pavements, compared to 21% globally.

“We need to have better designed streets with sidewalks, adequate signage and crosswalks, especially around schools,” Todd said.

He also laments the lack of public transport for the rapidly urbanizing continent.

Urban planning is also to blame.

“Many African countries continue to design their infrastructure for motor vehicles rather than private use, and without safety as a primary concern,” said Haileyesus Adamtei, transport specialist at the World Bank.

Rules that were “never applied”

According to the United Nations Road Safety Fund, a major culprit is the quality of the cars on Africa’s roads, many of which are more than 15 years old.

A spokesman for the transport ministry in Senegal told AFP that faulty brakes and worn tires were common.

“The dilapidated condition of the vehicles is a major factor in the lack of safety,” the spokesman said.

The West African country introduced a raft of new rules after a head-on collision between two night buses in January 2023 claimed the lives of 40 people.

“But most of them were never implemented,” the ministry spokesman admitted.

Some rules, such as the ban on loading luggage on the roof of buses, which could cause the vehicle to become unbalanced, were strongly opposed by operators.

It doesn’t help that drivers can often get a license with only cursory lessons and tests — often avoided entirely by bribery.

Corruption also means that lax enforcement often sweeps many road safety violations under the carpet.

The UN has called for a “decade of action” to halve the number of road deaths by 2030.

Todd insists the target is achievable and should be at the top of the government’s agenda.

“Apart from human tragedy, road accidents are also a major cause of slowing down a country’s development, costing an average of 4% to 5% of GDP, sometimes much more in Africa,” he said.