Road accidents killed 980 people and injured 6,565 till December 24, 2021, according to the National Road Safety Observatory (ONSR) under the Interior Ministry.
Accidents increased this year, with 4,835 recorded accidents compared to 4,690 in 2020, information officer at the Observatory Mourad Jouini told TAP on Sunday.
The number of fatalities was also up 980 against 913 in 2020 and the number of wounded slightly dropped against 6,642 in 2020.
The governorate of Tunis is in the lead in terms of accidents (818), deaths (123) and injuries (1,048), followed by the governorate of Nabeul (465 accidents, 67 deaths, 636 injuries) and Ben Arous (355 accidents, 40 deaths, 459 injuries).
The governorate of Sfax comes second as regards the number of deaths (94 deaths and 233 accidents).
The main cause of accidents is distraction and lack of vigilance, which led to 1,738 accidents and 244 deaths and 2,014 injuries, followed by overspeed (290 deaths, 1,221 injuries and 760 accidents), Jouini explained.
August 2021 was the deadliest month with 109 deaths, 500 injuries and 346 accidents, followed by July (89 deaths, 589 injuries, 419 accidents).
March 2021, however, had the highest number of accidents (512 accidents, 71 deaths and 735 injuries).
An awareness campaign against speeding, the leading cause of road accidents worldwide by the World Health Organisation, was launched in mid-December.
