BEIRUT: Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said Tuesday that Lebanon’s population was dissatisfied with the performance of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) regarding road safety.
The minister highlighted his strong intention to implement measures aimed at reducing road accidents, and condemned any potential delays due to political differences.
Road accident rates have risen significantly in the past few months, with eight accidents occurring last week alone.
“The Lebanese are not satisfied with the performance of the ISF. I share their opinion … Measures will be taken and I’m putting my foot down,” Baroud told a news conference.
He explained that police stations were in charge of implementing traffic laws and should be held accountable for this task, adding however that the ISF lacked an administrative board and that both security forces and the people were also responsible for road safety.
“Does the interior minister have to be a policeman or should the policeman do his job?” he asked.
Baroud announced a major crackdown on road violations.
“I previously demanded that traffic sanctions be five times higher than they currently are. I now demand that they become 10 times higher,” the interior minister said, revealing that he asked the Cabinet to create an emergency traffic unit charged with clamping down on traffic violations for three months.
The minister also underlined the need to separate the ISF and traffic issues from politics, saying the people’s lives couldn’t wait for the political crisis to be solved. “The ISF is close to the people and it’s not concerned with the political crisis. It’s an institution that guarantees the people’s lives,” he said.
“Leave politics aside. After the political crisis is over, what are we to tell the people?” Baroud asked.
The interior minister also tackled violations concerning the vehicle inspection service (mecanique). “In my opinion, it is one of the failed examples of privatization,” he said. “There are 300 illegal cars in every sense of the word. In the last two weeks people were arrested near the Department of Motor Vehicles offices for renting out tires for cars undergoing the inspection … These people are criminals.”
He then asked all ministries and authorities to cooperate in reducing the number of car accidents, clarifying that the aim of his news conference was not to justify the current situation nor to defend any official, not even himself.
“I have to answer the people’s cries because they are waiting for me to take some measures. There is a general fear of this phenomenon of car accidents,” he said, adding that every road victim counted.
Around 390 people have been killed on the road already this year, according to the Interior Ministry.
Around 390 people have been killed on the road already this year, according to the Interior Ministry.
He also said an agreement had been made with Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh to get the exact number of victims in order to monitor traffic safety development.
He also stressed that the desired aim – to eliminate car accidents – had been absent during the terms of previous ministries, reiterating the need to put political tensions aside.
“We need to approve the new traffic regulation law and to fix the problems that cause repeated accidents,” he said, mentioning sharp turns, the absence of lighting on the streets, and the absence of traffic signs and lines demarcating the roads as some of reasons behind continual accidents.
Baroud also cited the lack of pedestrian bridges as a reason for accidents, noting that 40 percent of road victims were pedestrians. He reminded pedestrians that they also needed to respect the law and use the bridges.
He also held the people responsible for illegally purchasing driver’s licenses and said parents who gave their children a driver’s license as a present were offering them “the gift of death.”
He criticized driving schools and cases of driving while intoxicated, adding alcohol consumption and using portable phones to the list of accident triggers.
As for solutions, Baroud spoke about harsher measures, the need for a new traffic law and the importance of raising awareness with the help of the Education Ministry and media outlets.
He said a project to install speed radars was under way, but was confronted by financial obstacles. “We received $2.5 million to buy radars while we need $12 million,” he said, adding that no one will know the positions of the radars once installed.
Concerning the banning of motorcycles, he said it was not the answer and called for regulating the bikes instead of banning them.
During the past week, an International College student was killed on his way to school in the Beirut neighborhood of Raouche and five people were killed in one day due to traffic accidents. The latter case included two children under the age of 10.
Despite several measures already taken and promises made, the number of traffic fatalities is still remarkably high, with more than 900 deaths and 13,000 injuries a year according to the Youth Association for Social Awareness president Ziad Akl. Figures from the Interior Ministry state that there were 513 deaths in 2009.
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