Deadly Minibus Crash in Morocco Highlights Road Safety Concerns

This accident is one of the deadliest recorded in recent years and the most important since the creation of the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) in 2020, reports El Español, which recalls that in March, a vehicle crashed into a tree in a village in the kingdom, killing 11 people, and that 23 people also died in a terrible bus accident in Casablanca in 2022.

These few examples are indicative of the worrying increase in the mortality rate due to road accidents in the kingdom (10 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). To reverse the trend, the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics had requested in 2015 the technical assistance of the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) to carry out a detailed diagnosis of the National Road Safety Strategy for the period 2004-2013 and develop a new strategy for the period 2016-2025.

During the 2004-2013 period, Morocco focused its efforts on the development of rural roads, which had helped reduce accidents on the roads, from 2,416 in 2000 to 1,827 in 2019. According to the latest data, 10,003 people were victims of serious accidents against 139,339 for minor accidents, proof that efforts remain to be made to improve road safety management in the kingdom.

The new 2016-2025 strategy aims to reduce the number of road deaths by 50%, by "increasing the paved road network," it is specified. Taking stock at the midpoint of the implementation of this strategy in January, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil, indicated that the number of road deaths was 3,201, compared to 3,622 in 2022, a reduction of 10.5% in deaths and 17.9% in serious injuries compared to 2015. Encouraging results, but still insufficient.