Dangers of Driving in Lebanon …

According to YASA, over 900 are killed, 12,000 are injured and 20,00 handicapped every year in Lebanon cause of car accidents.

Why is it that YASA has managed to lower the accidents in countries like Syria, KSA & Jordan but not in Lebanon ?
YASA responsibles blame the Lebanese officials and their complete neglicence but nevertheless presented to them a list of demands that need to be applied (bass la 7ayata li man tounadi ).

In my opinion, the problem is not just drunk driving as it is portrayed, but is the chaotic structure of our roads and this joke of an infrastructure we have.

Added to that, every Lebanese driver thinks he’s Sebastien Loeb with his 1950 tuned BMW,GOLF, Mitsubishi EVO or STI etc …

Last but not least, there are certain roads in Lebanon labeled as the most dangerous ones in the world (Beirut-Damascus road) and yet no measures are taken whatsoever. I would add to this road Jounieh-Faraya road, Antelias-Bekfaya road, Jbeil-Batroun road etc etc etc …

Dom Joly from The Independant described the Damascus-road as follows:

“widely acknowledged to be the most dangerous stretch of road anywhere in the world, where huge, overloaded trucks overtake each other on hairpin bends and hammer down the steep inclines with adrenalin for brake pads. The drive, however, was wonderful. True, I was actually forced off into the ditch twice by out-of-control minibuses, but the views were sublime.”

What can be done ?
It all comes back to the ministry of interior and how Baroud, if he is gonna fix those issues.

I would also encourage associations like YASA to be more active on the ground and set up safety checkpoints (if granted the permissions) on dangerous roads and incite municipalities to take action (speed bumps, more signs etc …)