Hundreds die on Georgia’s roads each year, says Deputy Interior Minister
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Each year about 600 people die in accidents on Georgian roads.
Today Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shalva Khutsishvili revealed the annual road toll and voiced the Ministry’s plans to reduce the number of deaths on Georgian roads.
Khutsishvili said about 550- 600 people died in road accidents annually in Georgia and trends showed this number had slightly changed year-on-year.
- In 2013, 514 people died in road accidents;
- In 2014, 511 people died in road accidents; and
- In 2015, 602 people were killed on Georgian roads.
Khutsishvili added there were about 1.2 million cars registered in Georgia and the annual death toll resulting from road accidents was "quite high” compared with other countries in Eastern Europe.
Reducing the road toll and improving traffic safety was one of the top priorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Khutsishvili stressed the Ministry had launched various projects to improve Georgia’s road safety and improve driver awareness with the ultimate aim of reducing the road toll.
Two of the projects implemented included a large-scaled public campaign titled ‘For Your Sake, For Your Safety’ as and a pilot project at schools that would educate children of the rights and responsibilities of road users.
We are carrying out several projects to promote road safety; one of them aims to raise children’s awareness about road safety issues at school,” Khutsishvili said.
Through this project, members of the patrol police, firefighters and 112 Emergency Service representatives will deliver lectures at schools,” he added.
The pilot project will initially cover 30 schools in capital Tbilisi and gradually extend to encompass all Georgian schools, meaning all students in Georgia will learn about road safety.
Figures released by the Ministry earlier in the year showed as well as deaths, the number of road accidents was increasing.
Figures released in February showed there were 6,432 road accidents in 2015. This was a 7.3 percent increase on the 5,992 crashes reported in 2014.
Of the 6,432 road accidents, 299 were caused by intoxicated drivers.
In 2015 more than 600 people died in accidents on Georgian roads and an additional 9,187 people were injured. To compare 8,536 people were injured in car accidents in 2014 while 511 were killed.
Regional road safety experts meet in Tbilisi
Around 100 senior officials from nine countries are visiting Georgia’s capital Tbilisi to discuss how to improve road safety in Georgia and the region.
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Experts develop a National Strategy on Road Safety
Georgia is continuing to develop a set of documents that identify ways to make Georgia’s roads safer and reduce the high road toll.
Georgia is one of the first countries to submit a voluntary review on road safety to the United Nations (UN) High Level Political Forum (HLPF).
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In a bid to curb speeding and reduce related accidents, the Government of Georgia has made it compulsory for buses, mini-buses and trucks operating in the country to have speed-limiting devices installed.
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