As holidays approach, police urge drivers to show caution,
273 have been killed on country’s roads in 2016
As the High Holy Days approach, a string of crashes on Israel’s roads illustrates safety concerns drivers will face on their holiday commutes.
On Tuesday morning a crash on Route 31 near Beersheba injured 23 people, including a baby who suffered multi-system trauma and a man in his 20s with a serious head injury.
A paramedic called the incident “a serious accident.”
Magen David Adom teams rescued the unconscious girl of about seven months and evacuated her along with 12 others to Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba.
This came a day after Israelis were shocked by the death of great-grandmother Rivka Toledan, 83, and her daughter Esther Asayag, 56, who succumbed on Tuesday and Sunday, respectively, to their injuries from a crash on Route 70. Since the beginning of the year 273 people have died in car accidents, this is up from 260 for the entirety of 2015. The National Road Safety Authority has a goal of no more than 245 traffic fatalities per year by 2020.
According to a spokeswoman for Or Yarok (Green Light) an NGO that promotes driver safety and seeks to reduce traffic accidents, Routes 70 and 31 in northern and southern Israel, respectively, account for a great deal of the crashes. “A lot of people are getting killed on these roads,” she said.
Or Yarok contends that there are not enough traffic police to properly protect Israeli drivers generally – a problem that is exacerbated during holidays when many Israelis travel to visit family. “There is not enough enforcement on the street and not enough police cars to be ready for the rise of cars and people in the streets,” the spokeswoman said, “This is not only on Rosh Hashana, but every day.”
The traffic police have not issued any notice of special preparations for the upcoming holidays, however, a spokesman told The Jerusalem Post there would be a public notice in the coming days.
Tel Aviv is preparing for a large influx of visitors stating that roads and parking lots will be “jam packed” over the High Holy Days. The police is also concerned about an increase in drunk driving. “During the holidays there will be amplified police patrols... there will be stepped up supervision on the roads and police will enforce the prevention of drunken driving on the roads,” the Tel Aviv District police said, “Police will be widely deployed on the roads to handle the control and direction of movement and for maximum reduction of road accidents.”
According to the police, the Waze navigation app will also be updated to help drivers get around during the holiday chaos.
In Jerusalem, security measures are being stepped up and traffic will be closed to non-resident vehicles seeking to enter the Old City through Jaffa Gate.
Or Yarok suggests that drivers remain aware of driver fatigue and alcohol consumption. “People should rest before driving, and be careful of drinking a lot of wine on Rosh Hashana eve,” the spokesman said.
According to a 2015 report on world traffic safety by the World Health Organization, Israel has one of the world’s lowest rates of traffic fatalities at 3.6 deaths per 100,000 people.