The northern part of the country, where the Caspian hails the land, is a leafy paradise. In autumn it turns to a gallery of warm colours: yellows and oranges and reds and browns, with the Chaloos Road at the centre of that beauty. But at the same time it is frightening. When I was coming back to Tehran on Friday, there were many instances that I was nearly devoured by the winding road and its wild inhabitants. The fact that I had every confidence in the skills of the driver beside me was not enough.
And what I’d feared for the whole of the journey finally happened; not to me but to somebody else. Sorry for the blurry photo, as I had to shoot in motion.
I have some disturbing figures for you: 28,000 people die every year in road accidents in Iran, meaning one every 19 minutes. That is 20 times higher than the world average; Iranian roads claim 2.5 per cent of all crashes worldwide. Another highpoint for this record-loving nation.
Apart from the crazy driving, which I think is the major reason for all these accidents, what cannot be ignored is the poor planning of roads. This is evident in the inter-city highways, but even more so in the cities. The trend of ruining the roads inside Tehran by introducing unexpected U-turns in the fast lane is unforgivable.
The worse tragedy is that people simply don’t care for their own lives. Haphazard overtaking is common, dodging the rules is fashionable, and misusing a vehicle as a means for flirting (while driving) is hot.
My thanks go to UNICEF for their new initiative, calling to “reduce speed, wear seat-belts, and use child seats”. One can only hope that awareness will be raised and Paradise will be regained.
Always a great pleasure to read the writings of Ali "Bonaire"
Posted by: Gary | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 09:54 PM
Man! I really enjoy reading your stuff. I think you write as good as a native. I should learn to do that good in english
Posted by: Pendar | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 10:32 AM
This is Iran.dont expect much
Posted by: nariman | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 02:47 PM
Across that contentiously named stretch of water, Oman is also wrestling with how to reduce its own accident figures; a mortality rate of 28 per 100,000 population . One can surmise the causes are similar to those across the water in Iran - fellow travelers on the road.
Posted by: Oman | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 04:42 PM
That was just the perfect explanation, "people simply don’t care for their own lives".
Posted by: Rouzbeh | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 10:34 PM