Improving Road Safety
in the OIC Member States
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Department is also active in drafting of specifications and standards, funding, contracting,
monitoring and quality control. The Roads and Road Traffic Department applies various road
design standards, which have been developed for local conditions. These road design standards
were originally based on international standards. However, these standards have been adjusted
to fit the Moroccan situation.
Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics, Department of Road Transportation Safety
(DTRSR)
The DTRSR is mainly in charge of road transportation safety in general and for the safety of
vehicles and drivers. This department administers vehicle permits, testing and registration. It is
also responsible for driver licensing and testing.
The Department of Studies, Planning and Coordination
This Department focuses and is responsible for the planning and development of the road
transport sector, for the coordination between various modes of transport in the country and
for the transportation information system.
While Morocco does have important departments that focus on the road safety system,
Morocco lacks the presence of a dedicated road safety research programme carried out by a
dedicated research staff and backed by sustainable funding sources. This is important to review
and research the data that is gathered (Schermers et al., 2015).
Pillar 2: Roads and mobility
Road conditions play an important part in road safety systems, with more than 70% of fatalities
and seriously injured casualties occur on rural roads. The road network of Morocco covers about
61.000 kilometres, of which 41.105 kilometres are asphalt surfaced. This road network
accommodates around 90% of the country’s mobility need and 75% of the transport of goods
requirements (Schermers et al., 2015). According to the Minestère de L’Equipement et du
Transport 2012, 9.816 kilometres of the asphalt roads are categorised as highways, 22.068
kilometres as provincial roads and 9.221 kilometres as regional roads. Of the 9.816 kilometres
of highways, about 800 kilometres consist of dual carriageways. On a daily basis around 88.500
million vehicle kilometres are travelled on the paved network of Morocco. Of the total amount
of vehicle kilometres that are travelled on the paved network, around 67% are travelled on
highways, 18% on regional roads and 14% on provincial roads (Schermers et al., 2015).
Road conditions do vary by season. During periods of heavy rainfall, road sections can wash
away and create large pot holes. Heavy rainfall also contributes to less visibility and especially
make road markings less visible. Roadways in mountainous areas can get closed in wintertime
due to heavy snow (OSAC Country Council Information, 2014b).
The Directorate of Road Transport and Road Safety (DTRSR) is responsible for the management
of road safety. This department recently applied safety measures to improve road safety. They
improved the Infrastructure with identification and elimination of so called ‘blackspots’, the