Morocco

Country Summary

Morocco has a poor road safety record.  According to the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Transport, road crashes in 2009 claimed the lives of 3,946 people and wounded 103,180 persons. On average, 10 people die on Moroccan roads and the lives of 200 others are disrupted by serious road injuries every day.

In a bid to improve road safety the government drew up a 1 billion-Dirham emergency road safety plan for the period 2008-2010. The plan aimed initially at bringing the increasing rate in road crashes to a halt and ultimately reversing the trend.

According to the High Commissioner for Planning in Morocco, trends in car crashes were constantly on the rise between the years 2001 and 2003 and at alarming rates between the years 2006 and 2008.  

Speed limits are in place in Morocco. Nonetheless, there is no drink-driving law since alcohol consumption is prohibited in the country, generally speaking, but reports have revealed road traffic deaths in Morocco involving alcohol.  In fact, 3% of road deaths in 2007 were due to drinking and driving, according to the figures of the National Road Administration at the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Transport.

On the other hand, in urban areas, 67% of the drivers were reported to be respecting the helmet wearing law in 2007. Likewise, 75% of the front-seat passengers and 19% of the rear-seat passengers were abiding by the seat belt law that same year (National Committee of Prevention from Traffic Accidents, Morocco).

Our activities in Morocco

Morocco is also included in the Proactive Partnership Strategy (PPS) and the Global Road Safety Initiative (GRSI).

In February 2007, Morocco took part in the "African Road Safety Conference" held in Ghana and co-organized by the World Health Organization and the UN Economic Commission for Africa with our support and that of a number of other agencies.

In 2012, Morocco will be one of the 11 countries benefiting from the capacity building programme that we are conducting for the Mediterranean countries through a 3-year EU funded project.