Traffic accidents have become a new machine to be added to the machines of looting and capturing the lives of Iraqis after being at the forefront of the terrorist operations that have affected them during the past two decades, as the number of victims has exceeded 3 times the number of victims of acts of violence and terrorism during the past two years.

Road accidents kill nearly 1.3 million people each year, at a rate of more than two deaths every minute, with more than 9 out of every 10 deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

Among the accidents that occurred last month in Iraq was a terrible traffic accident in the southern governorate of Maysan, in which Abdul Karim Al-Ansari (Abu Maryam), Deputy Secretary-General of the Badr Organization, died, and his vehicle was badly damaged, and two of his companions were injured.

One of the traffic accidents in Kirkuk governorate (communication sites)

Thousands of accidents

2021 is one of the years that witnessed the most increase in traffic accidents that claimed the lives of Iraqis, as 8,286 traffic accidents were recorded, in which 2,152 people died.

Traffic accidents in 2021 increased by 44% compared to 2020, which recorded 4,666 traffic accidents, causing the death of 1,552 people, while the percentage of accident victims increased by 30%.

In a simple comparison conducted by Al Jazeera Net between the victims of traffic accidents and acts of violence, which amounted to about 596 victims during 2021, and the victims of terrorist acts and other cases, the percentage of traffic accidents fatalities exceeded that of other businesses by about 3 times.

According to previous reports, ISIS launched 230 operations during 2020, with losses amounting to about 812 dead, wounded and kidnapped.

During the first ten months of 2021, the organization carried out about 170 operations targeting civilians and security personnel, and its losses amounted to about 837 cases, including dead, wounded and kidnapped as well.

Al-Qaisi attributed the accidents in general to the driver's lack of compliance with traffic rules (Al-Jazeera Net)

accident triangle

The Director of Information of the General Traffic Directorate, Brigadier General Dr. Ziyad Al-Qaisi, blames the traffic accidents on what he called the traffic accident triangle: the driver who can eliminate most of the problem by adhering to the traffic rules, as well as both the vehicle and the roads.

Al-Qaisi says - in a comment on the increase in traffic accidents - that the driver's lack of commitment to the traffic system and traffic rules, excessive speed and wrong passing on the right, in addition to using a mobile phone, not wearing a seat belt, and non-compliance with traffic signals, are all major causes of accidents.

The media director does not absolve the vehicle yard of responsibility, as he points out that the car industry at present is different from what it was in the past, as it is not at the required level in terms of durability, and most of them are characterized by lightness and speed, and when the accident occurs, the negative impact is greater on its passengers.

Bad roads, existing and unpaved roads, and the absence of security fences in them, increase the possibility of accidents.

Al-Qaisi increases his criticism of vehicle drivers that some of them do not use the safety and durability conditions when the car malfunctions, including placing the signal triangle when stopping on the right lane, in addition to using high beams that cause the opposite driver to be unable to see.

The well-known popular poet Samir Sobeih is considered one of the most prominent victims of traffic accidents, as he died in October 2021 on the Baghdad-Kut road, which is one of the most prominent roads witnessing tragic traffic accidents constantly.

Al-Juhaishi considered traffic accidents in Iraq as one of the death machines (Al-Jazeera Net)

death machine

The legal, security expert and political researcher Kazem Al-Juhaishi describes traffic accidents as one of the death machines in Iraq.

He points the finger at "neighboring" countries and hidden hands. This paper uses this paper as one of the tools for destroying and sabotaging the country, with all successive governments failing to address the problem of major roads and bridges.

He mentions the "roads of death" between the governorates of Basra and Al-Amarah, the Nasiriyah-Diwaniyah-Erbil-Baghdad road, which is now claiming the lives of dozens of Iraqis.

What raises the security expert most is the multiplicity and continuity of death machines, especially after 2010, as he refers to the first and most prominent tool, which is drugs that are still killing young people, as well as the phenomenon of suicide, which is also increasing as a result of psychological pressure, unemployment and injustice that falls on segments of society with the spread of diseases Epidemics, particularly in the southern regions.

Al-Bayati criticized the Traffic Department for not adopting advanced mechanisms (Al-Jazeera Net)

Warning alarm

For his part, the former member of the Human Rights Commission, Ali Al-Bayati, criticizes the persistence of traditional traffic management mechanisms and their failure to turn them into advanced technological mechanisms, describing vehicles, roads, bridges and reconstruction as “chaos” that pervades the country due to the lack of procedures and means of security that are almost non-existent.

Al-Bayati - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - was surprised that most of these roads and bridges dated back to the pre-2003 era, thus causing successive governments to have clearly failed in addressing the origin of the problem related to regulating the mechanism of the presence of vehicles and their suitability to the reality, area, number or quality of roads and bridges.

He sees the increase in the number of traffic accident victims more than others as an "alarm bell" for the state and its institutions, in addition to the need for Parliament to play its role if there is a need to amend or legislate laws to manage the vehicle entry regulation mechanism that must be appropriate with the nature of the roads.

Traffic accident in Baghdad (communication sites)

road design

The Director General of the Department of Roads and Bridges Hussain Jassem had indicated - in a previous interview - that most traffic accidents are not caused by roads and lapses, but rather the speed, which is often higher than the speed limit for roads, which ranges between 100-120 km / h.

He attributed Iraq's delay in the field of the road system, in terms of the safety of foundation, signs and distances of setbacks from the edges of the streets, to the lack of funding and non-compliance with the law and the construction of restaurants and shops adjacent to and adjacent to the roads, as well as the theft of some holdings such as protective fences and signposts.

Kazem also criticized Iraq's persistence in the old traditional approach of charging the state the costs of constructing, developing, and even maintaining and rehabilitating roads with the funds of the general budget, without the existence of levies for such matters.