File photo: Egypt's road accidents (Al-Ahram)
Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of a truck driver for causing a deadly road accident that took place on Wednesday in the Nile Delta governorate of Menoufiya.
Twelve people died and three others were injured when a truck collided with a microbus carrying passengers near a checkpoint at El-Sadat industrial city.
Prosecutors on Thursday ordered the driver be detained for four days pending investigations and undergo a drug test.
Road accidents are common in Egypt and are often caused by poorly maintained roads, lax traffic regulations and reckless driving.
According to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS),1,567 people died as a result of road accidents in the first half of 2019, which numbered 5,220 accidents, up from 4,426 accidents in the same period in 2018, with an increase of 17.9 percent.
Egypt passed a new traffic law to crack down on violators and enhance safety and security in 2017. The law is set to go into effect in 2020.
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