SIDON: Residents of the southern coastal city of Sidon pointed fingers Wednesday at state authorities and at Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, blaming them for the rocketing number of road accidents.
Their protests came after a 73-year-old man was run over Tuesday at the Sidon Serail roundabout – just the latest in a string of road incidents.
Mohammad al-Baqari was struck by a vehicle at the roundabout. He was transported to the Labib medical center, where he later died.
The accident sparked anger, already stirred up by the rapidly increasing number of car accidents and by the “empty promises” the authorities were said to be making.
“The souls of people being murdered on the road are cheap in the eyes of our leaders, especially in the eyes of the Interior Ministry,” Moussa Abdullah said. “We don’t want to hear Baroud’s empty promises anymore. Either he solves the problem or he leaves. We’re starting to smell death.”
Baroud held a news conference Tuesday, confirming the people’s dissatisfaction with road-safety measures, and he vowed reforms and harsh sanctions for traffic law violators.
Sidon’s residents underlined the need for severe measures such as imprisonment, noting that the month of October counted 10 road deaths in its first 10 days.
“How can the state ignore all these victims?” asked Layla al-Shami. “Most of these people are now disabled – not just injured. It makes no difference whether you’re driving a car, taking a bus or walking.”
According to a non-final report by the Internal Security Forces (ISF), 390 people have been killed and 3,250 have been injured on the road from early 2010 until September.
According to a non-final report by the Internal Security Forces (ISF), 390 people have been killed and 3,250 have been injured on the road from early 2010 until September.
In south Lebanon, several road accidents occurred last week and one led to the death of a 26-year-old ISF member. The others caused the injury of a 21-year-old Palestinian, a 25-year-old man and two other people.
“No measures, no accountability,” shouted Khalil Antoun with anger, recalling a fatal car accident a few months ago on the Sidon Tyre highway. A rock fell from a truck, landed on a car and killed the driver.
“These trucks are giant death machines. You see them carrying rocks weighing tons without any safety measures,” Antoun said.
Local Nabil Hijazi agreed with Antoun, adding that other hazards existed on the road. “Everything in Lebanon is wrong,” he said. “Roads, bridges, tunnels, regulations, sanctions, etc. There is no value for the lives of people.”
“Thousands of driving permits should be withdrawn – their holders are not even capable of driving a vegetable cart,” Hijazi added.
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