Pedestrian accidents and deaths are 2.5 times higher than EU countries, research has shown.
Although there are frequent reports of road traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities, pedestrian injuries and deaths appear to have less impact, a report by Dr. Glenn P. Jenkins and Naghmeh Niroomand says.
According to their findings, the incidence of pedestrian deaths over the period 2010 to 2014 per 1000,000 in North Cyprus, is about 2.5 times that of the EU, with 10.5 times more pedestrian road injuries than deaths.
When drivers take to the roads, they are aware of the high risk of potential collisions even if they are not at fault. However, there is much less impact on social awareness caused by traffic incidents involving pedestrians.
According to statistics in 2017, in traffic accident involving pedestrians, 9 out 37 pedestrians had died, and pedestrian deaths in the country continues to increase every year.
A survey involving 378 participants was designed to reveal personal awareness of the risks involved in crossing roads where traffic was increasingly heavy, year on year. How many risks did pedestrians take when crossing busy roads? The research also revealed the financial investment per of individual required to protect a pedestrian from road death.
The survey said that on average, it would cost the state 700,000 euros to keep a pedestrian safe in North Cyprus. The surveyed individuals revealed that they were willing to pay an investment cost of around 20,000 euros to protect themselves from being injured as a pedestrian.
According to the report, over the last ten years, Turkey had granted 719 million TL For the purpose of improving highway infrastructure, however, it was revealed that only 46% of this money had been used to improve roads. While traffic numbers increased over the years, not enough resources had been spent on improving traffic and pedestrian safety.
The report said that government departments dealing with road building, maintenance and planning for new roads must become more developed and have more in-house expertise. If roads need maintenance this must be attended to immediately. Road planning projects should not just lie in the hands of civil servants.
Jenkins and Niroomand say that given the ambitions of North Cyprus to join the EU, the statistics for road safety in the country were not just alarming, they were a disgrace.
Havadis
*Dr. Glenn P. Jenkins is a Professor of Economics at Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus, and at Queen’s University, Canada. He is an Institute Fellow Emeritus of Harvard University, and the former President of the International Society for Benefit Cost Analysis
*Naghmeh Niroomand is a PhD candidate in Economics at Eastern Mediterranean University. Faculty of Business and economics, North Cyprus. She received her MS in Business Administration from Eastern Mediterranean University, Department of Business and Administration, Cyprus. She is active in research in the area of Human Capital, Investment Appraisal and Economics.
