In 2016, there were a total of over 2700 vehicular accidents in Yangon that resulted in approximately 400 fatalities and over 2000 injuries, reports the No. 2 Traffic Police Force.
Of the 2700 accidents, the majority — over 1100 incidents — involved personal-use vehicles, and 327 were motorcycle accidents.
Most of the fatalities were individuals aged 30 to 50 years old.
“The majority of accidents were due to reckless driving behavior such as drunk driving, a lack of understanding of road rules, and inexperienced drivers. In an effort to reduce the number of accidents in 2017, the Traffic Police Force will be holding talks to educate drivers and using CCTV footage from traffic cameras to take appropriate action against drivers who break the rules,” a traffic police officer told The Voice.
Police also admitted that following an accident, the majority of reckless drivers flee the scene of the crime instead of facing arrest.
Although reforms such as the new seatbelt law might not necessarily decrease the number of accidents, here’s hoping that they do significantly reduce the number of accident-related injuries and fatalities.
