Road traffic accidents are amongst the leading causes of death in Africa. At 26.6 deaths per 10,000 people, the continent’s road traffic fatalities are three times higher than that of Europe. This begs the question, why are there so many road accidents, and what can be done to improve road safety in Africa?

Human, mechanical and environmental factors negatively affect road safety across the continent. African roads are of poor quality and badly maintained. The common features of roads across the continent are dust, potholes, crowds, and traffic jams. In addition, all African countries, with the exception of South Africa, meet either none or just one of the United Nation’s seven main vehicle safety standards. There is also a lack of adherence to road safety guidelines such as speeding, drunk driving, and wrong lane changing.

However, there are some African countries that have been taking steps to improve road safety. Namibia has been selected as the country with the best quality of roads for five consecutive years by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report Index.

What do our readers think? Daniel said, “There are so many potholes that my tyres constantly get damaged, these roads probably get fixed once a year. Also, there are many people on the roads who drive recklessly.”

We spoke to Tawia Addo-Ashong, the Pillar Lead of Road Safety, Africa Transport Policy Program, World Bank, and this what she had to say,

We also spoke to the Urban Mobility Project Manager for World Resources Institute Africa, Iman Abubaker for her perspective

How would you improve road safety in Africa? What needs to be done to ensure that road safety is a priority for all? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below, and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!

Image by Gabrielle Kluiters via Flickr