Going through the newspaper today, I saw some news about an accident on the Zarqa-Mafraq road in Jordan. The accident was caused by a collision between a truck and a bus, resulting in 4 deaths and 43 injuries.

The sad thing is that these kinds of accidents are becoming part of the Jordanian daily routine, as according to the Jordanian Public Safety officials, on average, two people are killed and fifty more are injured each day due to car accidents; knowing that the total population of Jordan approximates 5 millions. This statistic somehow indicates that each and every Jordanian will be involved in some kind of car accident one day.

Ignoring street rules has been a major factor in the occurring accidents. Drivers tend to speed, change lanes without signaling, and generally drive with an aggressive attitude.

Pedestrians also have their share in what’s happening, especially in a country where the blame is always put on drivers when the accident involves a car and a pedestrian, which could be partly fine, as by the end of the day, drivers should always be very attentive to everything on and around the street, including pedestrians, but that definitely does not mean that pedestrians can cross the road from any place they wish, or that they can run into the street and expect cars to stop for them -a scene that is somehow normal on some Jordanian streets- and get away with it.

I am not sure what is to be done to actually make a change, but maybe trying to be stricter with BOTH drivers and pedestrians will end this killing madness on our streets.