Cameroon says accident related deaths drop by 17% in 2015

The number of accident related deaths in Cameroon has dropped from 94 to 77 deaths per month between 2013 and 2015 presenting a statistical value of 17% decline. The figures made public by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam is the result of a study by the World Bank that has saluted government’s actions in making the roads safer. The gendarmerie boss indicated that most road accidents originate from Human error while poor state of roads and mechanical faults results in a small fraction. 

The prevailing situation has been described as gross indiscipline on the part of reckless drivers who generally ply the highways at excessive speeds violating authorised road limits. Speed identified as the primary cause of fatal accidents was top on the chart of road offenses in 2015 while the Yaoundé – Douala and Yaoundé – Bafoussam highways were the most accident prone.

Since the control – surveillance – repression road safety campaign entered its third generation phase, more and more road users now respect the Highway Code but for a few recalcitrant drivers who deserve hard sanction, Jean Baptiste Bokam noted. The national Gendarmerie will continue its campaign with systematic body and luggage search in order to keep the roads safe and secured in 2016.