Morocco’s Road Safety Crisis: 3,500 Annual Deaths Cost Economy 1.7% of GDP

According to the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohammed Abdeljalil, every year, more than 3,500 Moroccans lose their lives and more than 10,000 are seriously injured in road accidents. This record remains far from the ambition of the 2017-2021 five-year plan, which aimed to reduce the number of deaths by 25% in 2021, i.e. less than 2,800 killed, he noted.

However, some achievements of this five-year plan were noted by the ministry in a press release. During this period, there was the amendment of the Highway Code, with the introduction of new offenses, the launch of a new program to extend the network of fixed speed cameras with the addition of 552 new generation units.

The ministry also launched the 2nd phase of the Special Road Safety Improvement Program (PSAS) in 2017, for an amount of 2.2 billion dirhams, the increase in premiums for the vehicle fleet renewal program or the launch of the professional driver training support program, with an annual budget of 100 million dirhams, in addition to the creation of the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA).

Soon, an evaluation of this first phase will be carried out to identify the constraints that have delayed the achievement of the set objectives, the press release adds. And to point out that the implementation of a new five-year plan 2022-2026 under the same conditions as the previous one is not likely to allow a 50% reduction in the number of deaths by 2026.

The recommended evaluation should identify the means likely to achieve the desired results within the framework of new objectives set in line with the 2021-2030 global Decade of Action, the note specifies.