Egypt car crash claims 11, injures 7

A head-on collision between a minibus and a lorry on a motorway has claimed the lives of eleven Egyptians and left seven others injured. According to a security official, the accident took place near Zaqaziq north east of the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday. The official further pointed out that the excessive speed of both vehicles was the cause of the crash. He also said that one of the victims was a three-year-old child, adding that two of the wounded people were in a serious condition. Egyptian roads are among the most chaotic and dangerous in the world as speeding, careless driving and poor road conditions lead to a high accident toll in Egypt. According to the Egyptian transport ministry, every year around 6,000 people lose their lives and 30,000 are injured in road accidents throughout the country. The transport ministry has also cited poorly maintained vehicles as another cause of crashes in Egypt. Egyptian traffic authorities have implemented tougher traffic rules and harsher punishments for traffic offenders. The new traffic regulations went into effect on August 1, 2008, in an attempt to reduce the number of road accidents in the country.