Lack of care will increase road deaths, says official

AT least nine people are killed or injured per day on average on PNG roads, according to police reports collated and analysed by the Road Traffic Authority (RTA).
RTA chief executive Nelson Terema released the findings in Port Moresby on Friday that for the first time, statistics collated from 2002 to 2015 showed a growing trend on road accidents.
He said these numbers would increase each year if people did not take extra precaution on the road.
The World Health Organisation estimates that the actual number of road deaths in PNG, due to under-reporting, is more than three times the reported number.
In 2002, there were 1,500 reported fatalities and serious injuries.
The trend shows an increase each year.
In 2014 alone, there were 2,800 reported fatalities and serious injuries.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Terema said.
Between 2011 and 2015, nearly 12,000 accidents were reported to police, resulting in about 16,000 recorded deaths or injuries.
“The data shows an alarming trend in the increase in the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads,” he said.
Terema said without significant change to how roads were designed, built and maintained, and how traffic rules were enforced, the situation would worsen.