Motorbikes drivers account for 42.8 per cent of traffic-related deaths in Myanmar, said Union Minister for Transport and Communications Thant Zin Maung at a road safety workshop in Naypyidaw yesterday.
Last year, 8,641 out of 17,384 (49.7 percent) of reported road accidents in the country involved motorbikes, and 2,093 out of 4,887 deaths were motorbike drivers.
The minister pledged to expand road safety education programs to rural communities that would not receive the education otherwise.
The National Road Safety Council requested that the Ministry of Commerce require motorbike showrooms to give two helmets to motorbike buyers. Furthermore, regional Road Transportation Administration Departments are working to allow motorbike showrooms to give out helmets for free, according to Eleven.
The number of traffic accidents, deaths, and injuries has risen since 2015. That year, there were 15,859 reported traffic accidents, 4,375 deaths, 26,630 injuries. Last year, there were 17,384 reported traffic accidents, 4,887 deaths and 27,763 injuries.
The number of vehicles increased from over four million in 2013 to over six million in 2016.
The Myanmar government is currently observing the UN Global Road Safety Week. Organizations around the country are holding education campaigns and public walking and cycling events to draw awareness to the importance of traffic regulations.
“Most of the accidents happen because of human error and road users who don’t abide by the rules,” U Khin Maung Tint, deputy police officer for Botahtaung township, told The Myanmar Times.
“Some are not skilled at driving, and some are not following the road signs. If road users abide the rules, the impact of the crisis will be low,” he added.
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