Traffic safety in Gulf countries with special reference to Kuwait

Abstract

A review of the problem of road accidents in Gulf countries is presented. A special reference is made to the road safety problem in Kuwait. Using cross‐sectional data from Gulf countries and six other Middle Eastern countries and time‐series data for Kuwait, significant relationships are established between fatality rates and motorization levels. Fatality rates per vehicle were found to be inversely related to vehicle ownership levels. Fatality rates are also related to some social and economical parameters including population per physician, population per hospital bed, school‐age population attending schools, vehicle ownership and gross national product per capita.