After falling impressively for decades, the number of road fatalities on Israel's roads has been rising alarmingly since 2012 when 292 people were killed in accidents. In 2016, the number of road fatalities reached 371, compared with 356 in 2015.
In most of the western world, the number of traffic fatalities is falling with the credit given to better safety features on cars, better road infrastructures, improved emergency services and medical treatment.
In response to this disturbing trend, the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety said that in the seven and a half years that Yisrael Katz has served as Minister of Transport and Road Safety there has been a 3% fall in fatalities from road accidents. "The Ministry is working continually to reduce the number of road injuries but it must be remembered that safety enforcement is the area of responsibility of Israel Police and the Ministry of Public Security and that the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety has no responsibility on the matter."
Over the past year nine people riding electric bicycles were killed while the number of pedestrians killed was 101, down from 114 in 2015. Over the same period, the number of cyclists and motor cyclists killed fell from 56 to 43. However, there was a sharp rise in the Arab sector where 121 people were killed in 2016 compared with 101 in 2015.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 5, 2017
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