Street Problems In Lebanon

Problems have after all been around since the dawn of time. Remember that the caveman used to doodle on the walls. They actually had issues. In fact, our issues these days appear pale once we think about all the wild and dangerous animals that lurked and threatened their lives every and each day, we can realize they are less life-threatening compared to what they had to face. However, many of us do still intent that these problems are larger than life.

Speaking of problems, we can't more agree that living in Lebanon is so perfectly. We tend to wake up on problems and issues, whether it's on TV news or during our day lifestyle. It's like we just got used to them and we never cared anymore to create or come up with any solution to these issues. For example, driving in Lebanon can be an adventure, due to its unhealthy roads situation where approximately 650 people are reported as killed due to road traffic crashes every year in Lebanon, however the actual number is approximated to be more than 1,000 people.

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As a result of the growing number of road traffic accidents, the ongoing economic cost is considerable, estimated at 3.2% - 4.8% of Lebanon's GDP. Such simple thing can really cause disasters and tragic endings.

In order to better understand the status of the road traffic accident situation in Lebanon the following data were collected by medical officers working for MedNet Liban who filled out road traffic accident surveys for 801 hospitalized victims of road traffic accidents [1].

According to (Fig. 1) we can see that Lebanese roads remain dry for the most part of the year while during winter season wet roads (due to rain or snow) states for the most of the road traffic accidents and it's clear that about 73.7% of road traffic accidents occur on clear days (Fig. 2). Where about 73% of the road traffic accidents take place on urban roads (Fig. 3), due to the fact that, with a centralized government, people are forced to drive to major cities to take care of their businesses. And since Lebanon's roads are compatible with the traffic laws. Though we got used to Lebanon's roads, but the road holes are just not acceptable. So if you don't see it due to speed or lack of road lights, it can break your car and create traffic and even accidents. Although Lebanon is spending large amounts of money paving and maintenance of roads, road conditions reflect similar situation with most developing countries where inadequate efforts and budgets are allocated for road construction and maintenance but some roads are tight and do not deserve to be called "roads".

Clovis Abi Nader, a Senior Traffic engineer, explained the importance of the asphalt (Asphalt is a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads, flooring, roofing, etc.) Bad asphalt depreciates the car faster, decreases its stability and may cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Lebanon witnesses many bad conditions of asphalt, bumps are one of them. When it comes to the execution of the asphalt, roads should be inclined in the same direction of the turnings to prevent cars from deviating outside their tracks. Unfortunately, this is absent in most of the Lebanese roads. Another point is the roads' equipment as to road marks and reflectors. In Lebanon, all the equipment isn't made of good quality because it costs the government less. That's why most of road marks don't last much. On the other side, grand rails that prevent vehicles from crossing to the other side or falling into a valley present a serious problem. They're not rehabilitated after crashes, so when driving through Lebanon, one can see traces of previous accidents. On top of that, they are made of metal and so consist a real danger to cars. The best alternative is to use New Jersey Barriers made of cement for they are more durable and their form pushes the car back into the road [2].

On the other hand, in the majority of road accident cases, people don't come forward to help. Not because they're apathetic to the victim's plight but juts many don't help because they're afraid of getting into legal tangles, or scared that if they accompany the victim to the hospital, they might be asked to pay the bill or even which is the main cause is they don't approach foe help since they are afraid that in the stress and strain of a real emergency they may make mistakes, fail to save, or even cause harm to others, knowing that 90% of people perform first aid in a wrong way. Particularly in relation to strangers, they have a further concern that mistakes may lead to legal problems or that they will be sued if they do the wrong thing.

Nine years ago, Hussein Huweeli a 41-year-old guy was hit by another car whose driver then fled, leaving him lying on the road, covered in blood. Ten minutes passed before anyone came to help him, minutes that decided Hussein's fate before anyone could approach for help or basic first aid, maybe that could have saved his life. This tragic accident is repeated daily in the streets of Lebanon. Not a day passes without fatalities or injuries being recorded after a car crash or a traffic accident. Although there are no reliable official statistics, private groups, like the YASA Organization (Youth Association for Social Awareness), tally statistics by following reports of traffic accidents in the media and the Red Cross. These unofficial statistics indicate that at least 900 people have died as a result of traffic accidents, and around 10,000 have been injured, since the start of 2009 [11]. Moving on to what happened recently in 2019, the problem is still the same but it's just the victims that are different. Ragheed Itani and Mohammed Ghazal, two of the finest guys have passed away at midnight of the 23rd of February while driving in the streets at Karentina near the fish market knowing that the traffic accident occurred in one of the roads not lit and the car that was driven by the victims car modest, indicating that they hit a rock, which led to their deaths. Throughout the past 9 years, accidents are still the same and of the same causes but the victims whom are differing each time.