[BEIRUT, Lebanon] — In the early hours of Sunday morning, news broke that popular Lebanese actor Issam Breidy had been killed in a car crash on the outskirts of Beirut, his vehicle having struck a concrete barrier on the Dora Bridge, flipping over and ejecting Breidy.
The actor was well known for his parts in a number of Lebanese TV shows and films. News of his death was met with a wide outpouring of sadness from fellow actors, fans and politicians in the country. Yet, Breidy was only one of more than 500 people who are reported killed on the roads of Lebanon – a nation of 4.2 million — every year.
The Eastern Mediterranean region of the Middle East accounts for more than 10% of road deaths worldwide: a rate of deaths-per-100,000 (21.3%) higher than the global average (18.2%), making it the second highest collision rate in the world after Africa.
According to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) an average of 550 people are recorded killed on Lebanon’s roads each year. However, the ISF believes that this figure is low due to widespread underreporting. ISF places the true figure at closer to 950 per year, explaining that recording, tracking and compiling data on traffic incidence in Lebanon is not unified and is often sporadic.
If the higher — and as many who follow the issue in the country believe — more accurate number of road deaths is accepted, then Lebanon sits significantly above the global average of road deaths and even above the regional average, placing it closer to Oman and Saudi Arabia.
According to May Abdouny of the Lebanese road safety NGO Kunhadi, the number one cause of accidents in Lebanon is speeding. Adouny points out that many people in Lebanon are not properly taught to drive and many drive aggressively and fast. She told The Media Line, “You can take this back to strict enforcing of the law, people will slow down if there is enforcement.”
While the official speed limit nationwide is 60 miles per hour and local authorities are allowed to set a lower limit, many complain that the law is inconsistently enforced. Speed is closely followed by drink driving related incidences that, despite clear rules governing the legal alcohol limit, are barley enforced at all.
Early reports into Breidy’s crash highlight another major factor in the high number of deaths in Lebanon: it believed that Breidy was thrown from his vehicle because he was not wearing a seatbelt – an occurrence not uncommon in Lebanon where it is estimated that only 12% of people buckle up while on the road.
Breidy’s death also coincided with the April 15 start of a crackdown on traffic violations. In the week prior, some 4394 speeding violations were recorded. Radar is now being used to clock drivers and fines are issued to the drivers through the mail. A new smartphone app and website were also released by the ISF at the end of February to allow drivers to check outstanding tickets and arrange payment of fines. Harsh sentences are threatened for those who fail to pay.
Despite repeated requests by The Media Line, the ISF declined to comment on the operation. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that police in Beirut have begun handing out many more tickets than usual and stopping cars when passengers are observed not to be wearing seatbelts.
Mahmoud, a Palestinian resident of Borj Al-Berajneh refugee camp who asked not to use his family name, received a ticket on one of the first days of the new initiative. He told The Media Line about the ISF operation saying, “I was speeding in my car on the motorway on Sunday [the day Breidy died and 4 days before the crackdown began] and the police stopped me. I have a ticket and they want $500 but I won’t pay it. I paid it before when I got a ticket but I just won’t use my car. I will keep it here for maybe 6 months, maybe more. Then I can go, no problem.” Mahmoud didn’t expect the new crackdown to last and decided to wait out the government rather than try to pay the fine, which is astronomically high for Mahmoud who is from a community whose average family salary is little more than $250 per month. However, he did admit that, “If I get stopped and the policeman looks at the computer and sees that I didn’t pay the $500, then he’ll take me to jail.”
At this stage it is unclear if the new zeal with which the Lebanese authorities are pursuing dangerous drivers will be maintained. Abdouny is hopeful however that attitudes can change, “This is beneficial to people, it is saving their lives!”