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Road accidents continue to bring grief to Algerian families. Despite all the prevention and safety measures taken by the security services concerned, an increase of more than 7% in the number of accidents and nearly 3% in the number of deaths was recorded during the first five months of 2024. This was revealed on Tuesday by the Director General of the National Delegation for Road Safety (DNSR), Ahmed Nait El-Hocine.
The official, who spoke at the forum,El Moudjahidindicated that the results of the first five months of 2024 show 11,162 bodily accidents with an increase of 740 more accidents compared to the same period of 2023, or a rate of 7.10%. A situation that has had a negative impact, he said, on other road safety indicators at the national level.
Thus, the number of deaths recorded was 1,446 people, with an increase of 42 deaths, or a rate of 2.99%. Regarding the number of road injuries, it is 14,852, or an increase of 5.87%, resulting in 824 more injuries.
To address the increase in road deaths, Ahmed Nait El-Hocine stressed that the government intends to further tighten road safety rules and review again certain provisions of Law 01-14 within the framework of the highway code. “The draft revision of Law 01-14 is almost complete. This is a revision of the repressive aspect of the law, because there are people who, through their behavior, put the lives of other users in danger. Exemplary sanctions are needed,” the official noted, adding that the tightening of sanctions provides for the upward revision of certain fines and prison sentences for road offenses.
The speaker stressed the need for constant synergy between the services concerned because, according to him, road safety policy is a cross-cutting policy which requires the involvement of several stakeholders.
Addressing the causes of traffic accidents, the guest of the forumEl Moudjahid stated, with figures to support his claim, that the human factor remains the main cause. According to him, data from the Road Safety Delegation indicate a predominance of young drivers whose age range varies between 18 and 29 years. “Young drivers are over-represented in road accidents and are involved in 4,252 bodily injuries, or 30.91% of the total number of road accidents,” he reported.
Nait El-Hocine specified that, within the framework of this human factor, we find the predominance of holders of driving licenses of less than 5 years. “We also observe that holders of driving licenses of less than 5 years were involved in 5,767 bodily accidents on the road, i.e. a rate of 41.92%,” he said.
A strong increase in the involvement of motorcycles was also observed during these first five months. “While motorcycles represent only 4.53% of the national vehicle fleet, they were involved in more than 21% of traffic accidents,” lamented the representative of the Road Safety Delegation.
Obtaining a permit: towards a digitalized system
The official also said that lack of driving skills is among the causes of traffic accidents. On this point, he pointed out the training of new drivers at driving schools, stating that there is a failure in the training of motorists and the driving license exam.
To remedy this, Mr. Nait El-Hocine stressed, the first step taken by the Ministry of the Interior is the revision of the national training plan as well as the revision of everything that must be taught at the level of driving schools. “This plan defines the courses for obtaining the driving license, the modernization of training tools as well as that of the examination conditions for obtaining it through the establishment of a multimedia system,” the speaker said.
Regarding this new system for obtaining a driving license, Mr. Nait El-Hocine said that an agreement was signed with the Center for Research on Scientific and Technical Information (Cerist), which will be responsible for digitizing the exams for obtaining a driving license (theoretical side). “This decision will also make it possible to follow the candidates’ progress from their registration at the driving school until they pass the theoretical tests,” he explained. “The exams will be conducted with a multimedia system. The candidate will answer the questions asked of him while behind the computer screen. It will be up to him to choose the right answers after suggestions are made to him.”
Nait El-Hocine insisted that there will be no human intervention in this exam. A way to ensure more rigor and seriousness, explaining that driving schools will be responsible for training candidates, but the exams will take place at the centers of the National Delegation for Road Safety.
This new system will be put into effect, according to him, by the end of December 2024 and will be launched, initially, in four pilot wilayas, before its generalization.
The points-based license will be in force in a year and a half
Furthermore, and to improve road safety and try to reduce the number of accidents, the State has opted for the introduction of the points-based license. A project that was supposed to be applicable for a few years but which is slow to see the light of day. On this subject, Mr. Nait El-Hocine said that this system is currently in the final phase of development. It should be operational within a year to a year and a half.
He stressed, in this sense, its dissuasive effect thanks to the withdrawal of points in the event of an infraction, specifying that the points-based license will also include an educational component. “Drivers who have lost points will thus be able to follow an awareness course to recover them. Each driver will have a capital of points which decreases in the event of infractions. The total loss of points will result in the suspension of the driving license,” explained the official.
The points-based license system in Algeria provides, according to him, for distinct suspension periods for the driving license in the event of a total loss of points, depending on the driver’s experience. “Awareness training courses will be offered to enable drivers to recover lost points,” he added.
The prevention component is also on the agenda of the National Delegation for Road Safety, which is focusing on raising awareness among road users to combat this massacre. This year, a campaign has been launched since 1er July, in collaboration with the National Gendarmerie and many partners, including Algerian Radio and Television as well as Naftal, said the speaker, specifying that awareness-raising will be carried out mainly on roads at risk of accidents.