Morocco’s most lethal roads
Eight out of ten deaths in car accidents happen on the same 180 kilometers of roads - here’s where to be extra vigilant.
There’s around 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) of road in Morocco, and yet 80 percent of all fatal car accidents happen on the same 180 kilometers (110 miles) in the network.
Moroccan weekly La Vie Éco has mapped these dangerous stretches and has come up with a list of the 15 “most lethal roads”. Most of these accident “black spots” are located on intersections in the north of the country.
According to La Vie Éco, the layout of intersections is as much a cause of accidents as speeding, reckless driving and the poor mechanical state of a lot of cars in Morocco.
For its part, the magazine says, the government is spending more than US$ 15 million to improve the traffic situation at the listed locations.
If you want to see the maps of these “black spots”, check the article over at La Vie Éco’s website.
The most dangerous stretches of road on the “tourist trail” are:
Traveling between Casablanca and Marrakech
- intersection of the RN9 and provincial road 3011 (near Sidi Maarouf), at kilometer point 2.1
Traveling between Marrakech and Essaouira/Agadir
- RN8 between Marrakech and Chichaoua (between km 182.3 and km 183.3)
- intersection of the RN6 and provincial road 5013 (km 185.1)
- intersection of the RN4 and the RN6 near Chicaoua (km 187.8)
- RN8 north of Ameskroud between km 30.8 and 54.8
Traveling between Casablanca and Essaouira
- intersection of the RN1 and regional road 204 at Bouguedra (near Safi), at km 518
- the southern exit from Safi on regional road 301 (the coastal road to Essaouira) at km 177
The other “black spots” have not been listed here, because they are not on the tourist trail. Again, La Vie Éco lists all of them on their website.
A big thank you to the people at La Vie Éco’s website who responded very quickly to my request to put these maps online.