Morocco: Containment Has Led to a Significant Reduction in Road Accidents

The number of traffic accidents that occurred in March caused 170 deaths, down 39.93%, while the number of fatal accidents totaled 153, a sharp drop of 40.23% compared to the same month in 2019, according to a provisional balance sheet drawn up by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, Logistics and Water.

The provisional statistical balance sheet of accidents and victims that occurred during the month of March shows a general decrease in the main accident-related indicators, a statement from the ministry said on Friday.

Indeed, the data for March 2020 in comparison with the provisional data of the same month last year, show that accidents causing physical injury reached 5,990, that is a decrease of 31.28% and fatal accidents showed a drop of 40.23% (153).

The number of seriously injured people amounted to 392, a decrease of 44.24%, while slightly injured people showed a decrease of 31.20% (7,948 injured), according to the same source.

The first victims of road accidents were vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and users of two and three-wheel vehicles, who remained the most affected category, accounting for about 61% of fatalities, followed by users of touring cars, who accounted for 30% of all fatalities.

These three main categories of road users, which together account for about 91% of all fatalities, have seen sharp decreases compared to March 2019: -27.78% for pedestrians, -49.50% for two and three-wheel users and -40% for light vehicle users.

With the exception of users of agricultural machinery, who reported one more victim in March 2020 (a death instead of zero in March 2019), the other categories of users, whose numbers are smaller, also recorded decreases ranging from -16.67% for taxi users (one less death: five instead of six in March 2019) to -100% for bus users (one less death: 0 instead of one in March 2019).

This drastic drop in road safety indicators in March 2020 is due to the implementation of health containment measures in Morocco related to Covid-19, which is still in progress, as of March 20, 2020, with a reduction of people’s mobility to the strict minimum, which has led to a sharp decrease in road risks.