Young men in their teens and twenties are dying of accidents on the road. The national death toll averages around 5,000 people annually, 80pc account for pedestrians in traffic accidents. Men between the ages of 15 and 29 took over three-fourths of this number. This year, the death of 30 people has been recorded on the road from Ayat to Tafo, on the north-east outskirts of Addis Abeba. A panel discussion focused on reducing traffic accidents was held at the Traffic Management Bureau located on Haile Gebresilassie Street in the capital. Officials at the Bureau attributed the increased traffic accidents and death rates to the mismanagement of breathalysers and speedometer radars. Ethiopia ranked 19th in countries encountering the most car accidents, reports World Health Organisation (WHO). The number of death rates due to traffic accidents accounted for 11pc by the end of last year, according to the report by Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), an international organisation working to improve road safety and save lives. An international initiative, BIGRS, aims to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries in low and middle-income countries and cities, strengthening national legislation and enhancing data collection and surveillance. Lethal traffic accidents are frequent during late night hours, with increased numbers on Saturdays, according to a report presented by Meron Getachew, a country representative of BIGRS.
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