SANA’A, Aug. 15 — On Tuesday, dozens of people blocked 45 Street, which stretches to Al-Sabeen Street, in reaction to the repetitive traffic accidents, which have recently claimed the lives of three people. Residents appealed to concerned authorities to make practical solutions in order to mitigate accidents on the road.  

They used a symbolic funeral to obstruct the main road in order to lobby the government to find a prompt remedy for the problem.

“Traffic incidents on Al-Sabeen Street are on the rise,” Mohammed Al-Nimr, a resident of the Al-Sabeen neighborhood, said. “The locals contacted the authorities at the helm many times, yet no response was given.”

A pool of officials, headed by Al-Sabeen’s district manager and the general secretary of the capital, pledged to tackle the issue; residents did not consent to open the road before tangible solutions were provided.

Marwan Al-Jawbi, a local, said over the course of the past three days three young people, including a child, were exposed to sporadic traffic incidents in the same street.

“There is no government role witnessed.”

Al-Jawbi called for the concerned authorities to bear responsibility and to start constructing a bridge in the Al-Sabeen area so as to control traffic accidents that turned out to be worrying problems.

Colonel Mohammed Al-Ghadara, the traffic general manager in Sana’a, said incidents during this year’s Ramadan rose to 260, resulting in 15 people dead and 198 wounded. One hundred sixteen people were seriously injured.  

Al-Ghadra said there is a decline in the number of traffic incidents on Al-Sabeen Street compared to the last year. He said there were 29 deaths and 182 injuries—of which 107 were serious—last year.

The Traffic Administration proposed a traffic plan for Ramadan in Sana’a this year, particularly near overcrowded markets. The prime reason behind the traffic accidents is high speed, insomnia and driver fatigue, they said.