Car Accident (illustrative)
Car Accident (illustrative)Israel news photo: Flash 90

One out of every three people killed in road accidents in Israel are pedestrians, a new study by the Or Yarok road safety group said. Israeli pedestrians, the study said are the second most vulnerable in the world to being killed in road accidents.

The study showed that in advanced countries, about 19% of those killed in road accidents were pedestrians, with the rest either drivers or passengers in vehicles. In Israel, that statistic is 34% - the second highest among advanced countries.

So far this year, 40 pedestrians have been killed in road accidents, the study showed – a 25% increase over the number killed in the first five months of 2013. During that year, 94 of the 591 people killed in road accidents were pedestrians.

Since 2003, there has been a 10% increase on average in the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents – while the number of those killed in road accidents overall has been falling. This fact, the organization said, showed that there was a great need to improve the infrastructure for pedestrians.

According to Shmuel Abuav, head of Or Yarok, “these worrying statistics, which extend over many years, require the Transportation Ministry to act immediately to improve safety conditions for pedestrians. Speed bumps need to be installed on dangerous streets, and especially around schools, playgrounds, and senior citizen centers,” he added.