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The drama of the bus fallen into the El-Harrach wadi, causing several victims, once again highlighted the danger of Algerian roads and the need for their urgent renovation. Faced with this worrying situation, the National Academy of Road Safety is sounding the alarm.
Its president, Ali Chekianpleads for a profound revision of the legal framework for road safety, so that it corresponds more to the realities on the ground. He insists on the need to strengthen cooperation with the ministries of transport and public works, while calling for the creation of a digital platform to identify the “blackheads” in order to identify and eliminate them. In this interview, he returns to the urgency of these reforms and details the measures he deems priority to stem the scourge of traffic accidents.
The independent young: We have just experienced a terrible drama with the accident of the bus that fell in the El-Harrach wadi. What do you think are the most likely causes of such an accident? Is the human factor (speeding, lack of vigilance) mainly in question in this type of drama?
Ali Chekian: The figures speak for themselves. Each year, road accidents make more than 3,700 dead in Algeria and 3,500 new disabled people, and cost the state more than 140 billion dinars. A heavy assessment that forces us to intensify our prevention efforts.
The causes are first human. Most dramas are linked to risky behaviors: reckless overtaking, dangerous maneuvers in turns and descents, excessive speed or lack of sleep due to fatigue. The road requires calm and self -control, not nervousness or precipitation.
Statistics also show that the most affected age group is between 19 and 39 years old. This means that youth are on the front line. It is therefore urgent to strengthen awareness and to raise the level of vigilance of drivers, especially in periods of change in life.
Is the point permit, in your opinion, today a necessity?
Absolutely. The Ministry of the Interior is engaged in a vast modernization and digitization project. The introduction of point license, with a centralized register of offenses, will effectively target recidivist and dangerous drivers. The President of the Republic also recalled the urgency of classifying offenders and sanctioning the perpetrators of serious offenses with the greatest firmness.
What are your main proposals concretely?
Our recommendations first target the human factor, which remains the leading cause of road accidents. We call for a radical strengthening of the training system, by reviewing the educational programs and by establishing strict control to put an end to the goals and guarantee the total transparency of the exams.
We also plead for an in -depth revision of the legal framework, so that it reflects the realities of the field, and for enhanced cooperation with the ministries of transport and public works. In this sense, we propose the creation of a national digital platform to identify and delete black dots from our roads.
In addition, we suggest the implementation of a national driving competition office, with completely dematerialized exams, organized via electronic platforms and supported by the infrastructure of vocational training centers.
Finally, we must go from classic awareness campaigns to a new intelligent strategy, based on the use of modern technologies, social networks and digital influencers to disseminate the road safety message in a wider and more efficient way. Today, young people are more sensitive to digital content, visual stories, short and impactful videos. This is why it is essential to adapt our discourse to these supports to directly touch this group of the population.
Does the summer season, marked by a disturbing resurgence of road accidents, calls for further strengthening awareness campaigns and control devices?
Absolutely. The resurgence of accidents in summer requires an urgent strengthening of awareness campaigns. But this struggle cannot be carried only by road safety services; It must become a national and collective approach.
The tourism sector, for example, must be fully involved in the national road safety strategy, by disseminating prevention messages through its reception structures, its agencies and its circuits. Short films, educational videos and awareness capsules can directly touch families and young travelers.
This mobilization must be prepared upstream, before each summer season, in order to anticipate the risks. In addition, it is essential to associate other sectors such as justice, by revising the penal code to tighten sanctions against serious offenses, but also culture and education to register road prevention in a citizen and sustainable dynamics.
We also plead for the involvement of the press and the media elite in the dissemination of road culture. Information is today an essential strategic partner. This is why we seized the Minister of Communication last week to establish a national day of road information, dedicated to awareness. Massive campaigns, carried out by television channels, radio and media institutions, must take up the challenge and help significantly reduce the number of accidents.
Road safety is not the business of a single ministry, it is a fight that must involve all institutions and society.