Road safety: NARSA steps up controls this summer
After a year in 2024 in which road indiscipline reached a critical level, and an already worrying start to 2025, the summer promises to be particularly sensitive (see also our edition of Tuesday July 8, 2025 www.leconomiste.com).
With over 20% more people killed between January and May 2025, NARSA is activating a summer emergency plan to stem the bleeding.
Presented at the beginning of July, the plan is based on a triad: reinforced control, targeted prevention and administrative sanctions. At the heart of the strategy is the reinforcement of controls. Over 20,000 outings have been scheduled by the police, supported by fixed, mobile and autonomous radars on the 620 black spots on the network, i.e. 1.6% of roads with 38% of fatalities.
Thirteen urban prefectures – Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat, Fez, Tangiers, Agadir, Meknès, Oujda, and other cities. – are given priority, with continuous surveillance by mobile units and site radars. Targeting is explicit: motorcycles, three-wheelers and pedestrians. Motorized two- and three-wheelers account for over one third of all fatalities. NARSA targets visible offences: failure to wear a helmet, missing plates, speeding. Portable speedometers can now be used to monitor the speed of two-wheelers.
As for pedestrians, their vulnerability calls for targeted actions: surveillance of protected crossings, visual checks, and awareness-raising. Prevention is organized around road safety villages in major cities, with exhibitions of damaged motorcycles, simulators, and workshops for children.
Other actions are carried out in railway stations and ports, with a presence in the mainstream media and on social media. On the enforcement front, unpaid fines will henceforth block any transfer of property or annual tax.
Circulars have been sent to public prosecutors to speed up proceedings. Technical inspection of two-wheelers >50cc will be introduced, and audits of dealers are planned. These measures are part of a continuum: since 2021, similar campaigns have been carried out every summer, with limited results. Accidents are occasionally reduced, but the effects fade once the campaigns are over.
Coordination between national and local players
Lack of coordination with local authorities, even though they are responsible for signage, lighting, and roads, is hampering sustainable transformation. However, an intersectoral synergy seems to be developing. While NARSA remains the prime contractor, the fields of urban planning, health, education and taxation are now involved. This articulation between national and local players opens the way to a more systemic approach. Because combating risky behavior requires sustainable relays, territorial continuity, and transformations rooted in everyday life. An ambitious plan, driven by a collective momentum. But if it is to bear fruit, it will have to meet with real public support. Road safety is not just a matter of speed cameras and controls: it is first and foremost a matter of individual responsibility. Respecting traffic lights, wearing a helmet, yielding the right of way… these are simple but decisive gestures. The fight against road deaths can only be won if every road user agrees to do his or her part.
A.Bo
