Egypt's Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar has called on his aides to search for “unconventional solutions” to the problems of heavy traffic and car accidents in Egypt, the ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Abdel-Ghaffar made the comments to his aides and top officials in a meeting held at the ministry on Tuesday.
According to the ministry's statement, the minister stressed on the importance of increasing traffic patrols on all roads and highways as well using modern technologies including portable speed-detecting radars.
Abdel-Ghaffar also ordered increased car inspections on roads and DUI tests on speeding drivers.
A social media campaign was started in mid August by a mother who lost her six-year-old daughter when a truck collided with their car on the Ring Road in Cairo.
The campaign spread rapidly on social media and TV channels, demanding that officials take serious steps including banning trucks from accessing major highways during rush hours and subjecting drivers to drug tests.
The country’s popular traffic app “Bey2ollak” bestowed the name of the young victim on the highway where she died as a show of solidarity with the victims of car accidents in the country.
According to news reports, the truck driver involved in the crash was under the influence of drugs at the time, and will stand trial in early September.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), the rate of car accident fatalities in Egypt declined by 16.8 percent between 2005 and 2015, though road crashes are still one of the leading causes of death in the country.
