Number of vehicles on Mozambique’s roads skyrocketed last year

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Number of vehicles on Mozambique’s roads skyrocketed last year

2:11 CAT | 09 Sep 2019

File photo: O País

The number of vehicles in Mozambique rose by 46,000 units to over 782,000 vehicles in 2018 as imports continue to grow.

Maputo province and city are home to 80% of vehicles, both heavy and light, according to the National Institute of Land Transport, a department of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Between 2013 and 2018, the number of vehicles in the country increased from just over 542,000 to over 782,000 vehicles, an average annual growth of 40,000 vehicles.

Mozambicans prefer light vehicles, with more than 33,200 registered in the last two years.

The rapid growth in the number of vehicles in the country may, it is thought, be behind the high number of car accidents. Excessive speed, poor pedestrian road sense, drunk driving and mechanical deficiencies in vehicles continue to be the main causes of road accidents.

The cost of accident claims to insurers continues to mount. In the first quarter of this year alone, costs of up to 2.3 billion meticais were reported, of which more than 324 million meticais were automobile-related.

By Edson Arante

Source: O País