Algeria is seeing a major improvement in road safety due to a combination of better driver education and tougher enforcement actions. Official figures show a 59% drop in road crashes in the last three years. In the period from 1st January to 17th August 2014 there were 24,388 recorded road crashes compared with 20,631 for the same period in 2015, 14,452 in 2016, 10,505 in 2017 and 6,928 in 2018.
During the first seven months of 2018 there were 5,076 road crashes in Algeria, which resulted in 1,512 fatalities and 8.852 injuries. This represented a 19.3% drop in crashes and a 9.62% reduction in road deaths from the same period in 2017. Speeding is cited as the prime cause in 37.5% of crashes, with 92.5% of incidents attributable to driver error.
Meanwhile the authorities are also tackling the problem of truck overloading, which causes safety issues as well as accelerating wear and tear of road infrastructure. New weighing stations are being set up across the country, with fines for offenders also being increased.
