Up to 2,000 people die and over 19,000 sustain injuries each year as a result of road traffic crashes in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov said at a government session Tuesday, TheCentral.Asia correspondent reports.
85% of the total crashes occur in populated areas. Deaths from crashes with pedestrians account for a one-fourth of road deaths. Mangistau, Almaty and Kyzylorda regions have the highest rates of road traffic fatalities. The main cause is the lack of regulated pedestrian crossings, lightning and sidewalks, said Sadenov.
The Kazakh interior minister went on to add that the changes in registration practices, growing number of vehicles, poor condition of infrastructure and drivers’ discipline are attributable to the increase in road traffic crashes.
Sadenov added that the country needs to install around 600 pedestrian lights, over 100,000 pedestrian fences, lighting on 15,000km of roads and 60,000km of sidewalks.
The minister said that there is an urgent need for construction of over six thousand km of roads with four or more lanes (category 1), including roads between regional administration centers: Atyrau, Aktobe and Uralsk; Oskemen and Semey; Karaganda, Zhezkazgan and Kyzylorda; Karaganda, Pavlodar and others.
Sadenov also pointed out that 37% of the total road crashes occur due to speeding.