Road safety in Lebanon: magnitude, cost and potential countermeasures

Road traffic injuries are a growing public health and development problem. According to the World Health Organization, 1.2 million people are killed and between 20 and 50 million people are injured or disabled in road traffic crashes around the world each year [10]. Most of those killed are in the prime of their lives. In the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the figures are particularly alarming; traffic accidents kill more than 75,000 people respectively, or between 12 and 45 people per 100,000 inhabitants each year, compared with an EU average of about 6 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Lebanon, a Middle Eastern country of about 4 million inhabitants, over 1000 people are killed every year, with nearly one-third involving vulnerable road users like pedestrians and motorcyclists. More than twice as many are permanently disabled by their injuries. These statistics need to be multiplied and seen in the context of deep family tragedy, of unimaginable grief and anguish, and of tremendous health and economic and disability costs. This study investigates the magnitude of road traffic accidents in Lebanon in order to provide a better understanding of the road safety trauma and assist strategic planning and optional allocation of resources.