Question

Conduct a research of 3 pages on Road Safety and Media reporting in Lebanon by concentrating on the following aspects: its magnitude, its economic costs, its importance, its success story (if any solution is implemented) and the main outputs of such a project.

Answer 1

Sol: Road traffic injuries are a growing public health and development problem. According to the World Health Organization, 1.2 million people are killed and between 20 and 50 million people are injured or disabled in road traffic crashes around the world each year. Most of those killed are in the prime of their lives. In the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the figures are particularly alarming; traffic accidents kill more than 75,000 people respectively, or between 12 and 45 people per 100,000 inhabitants each year, compared with an EU average of about 6 per 100,000 inhabitants. Road traffic accidents kill more than 1.2 million people yearly and injure or disable between 30 and 50 million a year. Most of the victims are young males and vulnerable road users. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic deaths are predicted by 2020 to increase by 83% in low-income and middle countries, and to decrease by 27% in high-income countries.
Road traffic injuries (RTI) must be treated as an important international public health problem and facing it should be considered as a major requirement for sustainable development. The United Nations and its specialized agencies, International Non-Governmental Organizations and many developed countries can be, by far, more effective in facing this challenge however, the strain remains on the health and the economy of most developing countries.
Most developing countries failed to face the growing problem of road traffic injuries due to the following reasons that will be studied in this report:
- Lack of political will because many decision-makers still regard RTI as being due to unfortunate mischance and an inevitable result of modernity;
- The absence of national long-term plans that are well designed and targeted to involve of cooperation to face this challenge on both regional and international levels.
- Insignificant technical and scientific assistance to the majority of the developing countries from the various United Nations Organizations and from some developed countries, which have been relatively successful in facing the rising challenge of road traffic injuries.

In Lebanon, a Middle Eastern country of about 4 million inhabitants, over 1000 people are killed every year, with nearly one-third involving vulnerable road users like pedestrians and motorcyclists. More than twice as many are permanently disabled by their injuries. These statistics need to be multiplied and seen in the context of deep family tragedy, of unimaginable grief and anguish, and of tremendous health and economic and disability costs. This study investigates the magnitude of road traffic accidents in Lebanon in order to provide a better understanding of the road safety trauma and assist strategic planning and optional allocation of resources.

In Lebanon, the overall road safety situation is poor. The actual number of casualties is high in relation to the number of inhabitants and motor vehicle ownership, as compared to countries with good road safety records.

LAND TRANSPORT IN LEBANON

The land transport fleet in Lebanon consists of more than 1.5 million registered vehicles. The lack of an efficient, reliable and wide public transport system has necessitated a reliance and eventual dependence on the personal car as the main means of transport within the country. The rate of car ownership of 2.7 persons for every car is amongst the highest in the world (Choueiri et al., 2010). By all means, car dependency in Lebanon drains the national economy of wealth and natural resources, encourages the reduction of the quality and quantity of public social space in cities, creates sprawl and far-flung sub-urbanization, and destroys culture. It is quickly becoming recognized as a global social and environmental problem.

Magnitude of Road Accident in Lebanon

Every year, approximately 650* people are reported as killed due to road traffic crashes in Lebanon, however the actual number is approximated to be more than 1,000* people. As a result of the growing number of road traffic accidents, the ongoing economic cost is considerable, estimated at 3.2%* – 4.8%* of Lebanon’s GDP.

There are no policies in place to separate and protect vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, who are disproportionately affected by road traffic crashes and account for 43%* of all road fatalities – an increase from 33% in 2013.

To date, Lebanon has implemented a selection of proven road safety best practices, however many are poorly enforced. Seat-belt laws are not applicable to front and rear seat occupants, thus only 14%* of front seat passengers are noted as wearing seat-belts.

Road Accidents by Cause

The largest single cause of accidents was excessive speeding for prevailing conditions, such as the weather, road, light, traffic, etc., which contributed to 22% of all accidents. Carelessness of drivers, such as using mobile phones while driving, close following or tailgating, not stopping at red lights, etc., took the second rank, accounting for 21% of the accidents. Other causes, such as disregarding traffic priority rules, using incorrect lanes, bad turns, reversing, and sudden stopping, caused about 26% of the accidents.Inappropriate crossing maneuvers by pedestrians contributed to about 10% of the accidents.

The Cost of Road Accidents

Deaths and injuries sustained in traffic accidents in Lebanon generate enormous medical costs, estimated by some sources at almost 2% of the Gross National Product (GNP), or 750 million U.S. Dollars (Choueiri et al., 2010, 2007 & 2000; El-Zein, 2004). This amount poses a significant financial burden on the economy of a country where a sizable proportion of the population lives below the poverty line of less than $15 per day.

The Main Outputs AND Recommendations

The review concerned 4447 traffic accidents in 2010, which resulted in 508 fatalities and 6040 injuries at the scene of the accident. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Squared goodness-of-fit test were used in the analysis. The main conclusions follow:

• accidents, fatalities and injuries do not have statistically a uniform distribution over months, weekdays, and daytimes;

• the largest single cause of accidents was excessive speeding for prevailing conditions, such as weather, road, light, traffic, etc., which contributed to 22% of all accidents. Carelessness of drivers, such as using mobile phones while driving, close following or tailgating, not stopping at red lights, etc., accounted for 21% of the accidents. Other causes, such as disregarding traffic priority rules, using incorrect lanes, bad turns, reversing, and sudden stopping, caused about 26% of the accidents. Inappropriate crossing maneuvers by pedestrians contributed to about 10% of the accidents.

• multi-vehicle accidents accounted for 47% of the accidents, and for the majority of the victims in road traffic accidents (40% killed and 55% injured);

• pedestrian accidents accounted for 29% of the accidents and contributed to 33% killed and 20% injured; • run-off-the-road/rollover accidents accounted for about 10% of the overall number of traffic accidents, and contributed to about 16% of road fatalities and 11% of road injuries;

• collisions with solid objects accounted for 14% of the accidents and contributed to 11% killed and 14% injured;

• passenger cars accounted for 67% of the accidents, followed by trucks (7%) and motorcycles (and bicycles) (26%);

• accidents involving passenger cars contributed to 71% killed and 73% injured; accidents involving trucks resulted in 12% killed and 6% injured; and accidents involving motorcycles (and bicycles) accounted for 17% killed and 21% injured;

• even though the Lebanese population is almost equally divided between males and females, more than three-quarters of the victims of road traffic accidents (81% killed and 76% injured) are male.

• about one half of road traffic accident victims are persons under 30 years of age, with those between the ages of 15 to 29 accounting for 35% and above, followed by those in the age group of 4 to 14 with 7% and above, and under 10 with about 5%;

• half of the road accidents (50%) occurred on undivided two-way roads, which make up the majority of roads in Lebanon. The least number of road traffic accidents (21%) occurred on divided roads;

• deaths and injuries sustained in traffic accidents generate enormous medical costs, estimated by some sources at almost 2% of the Gross National Product (GNP), or 750 million U.S. dollars. 22

In conclusion, reversing the lack of road safety culture in Lebanon is the biggest challenge that Lebanese governments face in their efforts to make the roads safer to drive on. By all means, attitudes toward speeding, changing lanes without warning, dangerous overtaking, tailgating, mobile phone usage whilst driving, and ignoring traffic lights in many instances are only a few of the issues that the Lebanese government needs to address in order to keep the roads safer. In the meantime, efforts should be made to establish well-equipped trauma centers; suitable means of transfer of injured patients by ambulance from the accident scene to these facilities are also of paramount importance, because many patients develop serious irreversible damage during inappropriate and unsafe transfer. In addition, reliable traffic accident data are important in order to understand how road safety interventions and technology can be successfully transferred from (developed) countries where they have proven to be effective (Habibzadeh, 2012).

Media reporting in Lebanon

Lebanon dropped yet another spot in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index, described as having a “highly politicized media” and expressing concern for press freedom as a whole. However, Lebanon’s ranking on the index has been roughly the same over the past decade with minor fluctuations, where most of what appears to be positive is due to worsening press freedoms elsewhere. In Freedom House’s respective index, Lebanon, too, has remained along the same “partly free” range, with small fluctuations and an unchanging legal framework between 2004 and 2017. In fact, during that period, the most promising period of improvement took place towards the end of 2004, when Lebanon was still under Syrian occupation and the press took greater part in critical and adversarial journalism.

Lebanon is often considered as a bastion of freedoms in a region filled with censorship and oppression. It does fair far better than most in the region when it comes to freedom of the press, but that doesn’t say much when your regional counterparts include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. We’re talking about Turkey, the country that according to the Committee To Protect Journalists has the most journalists currently detained, Saudi Arabia, which has assassinated journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Iran, which has detained and flogged journalists for covering protests.

The root of Lebanon’s press freedom problem does not lie in who occupies certain seats in the political apparatus. It’s rooted in Lebanon’s economic and legal system, which has paved the way for the current media and press ecosystem. The media, owned by a handful of families with business and political interests, mostly or entirely reproduces their talking-points and perspectives.

Despite its inevitable entanglement in regional turmoil, Lebanon is now viewed as the most stable and safe country in the Middle East. This reflects on its media environment which enjoys the same relative safety, even in a context that has become increasingly polarized and radicalized. Currently the Lebanese media landscape is in fact an arena of political patronage and domestic and foreign influence peddling.

The Lebanese media sector is facing a profound crisis and there are many journalists and media staff, working in the local and pan-Arab media outlets based in Beirut, who have not been paid for long time or have lost their jobs. As-Safir, a historic newspaper, was forced to close, and An-Nahar has weakened and had to restructure. Even Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera offices in Beirut and in the region have reduced the number of their staff members. The only media outlets that resist are those financed by large investors, linked to political-sectarian actors in the region.

In the 1970s, Lebanon offered a unique cultural openness and freedom of expression. Beirut was the region’s media hub and the target of important funding for its publications. Investors included Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, deposed Tunisian president Ben Ali, as well as Saudi royals. Lebanese newspapers were read throughout the Arab world and used to feature articles and op-eds by personalities from all over the region. Gulf countries, but also Iraq and Libya, used to finance Lebanese newsrooms to carry out and support their political battles. As a result, the injection of foreign funding was abundant and steady. Nowadays, with the global economic crises and the new channels of the Gulf, that money has been inexorably vanishing.

From the second half of the 19th century, decades before the creation of independent Lebanon in 1946, Beirut boasted preeminence in the surrounding Arab regions for the freedom of expression enjoyed by its several newspapers. These are indeed the oldest and most important in the area. Even today, the smallest country in the Middle East is an exception compared to its Arab neighbours in terms of pluralism of the press and broad range of readers.

Despite a history of turmoil, Lebanon’s well-educated and critical population has led to one of the most diverse and sophisticated press and media landscapes in the Arab Levant. With newspapers and media outlets in four different languages (Arabic, French, English and Armenian), Beirut has a vibrant media community with relatively high professional standards and free from State control. The Lebanese press does, however, reflect the limitations of the sectarian system that dominates the country, where a newspaper or a TV station is more often than not identified with one of the main religious and political groups.

Influential politicians

Due to the expansion of digital media worldwide, citizens in Lebanon have access to a variety of news platforms - whether websites, cable channels, or various subscription-based text message services. Although regional broadcasters such as Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and other international news channels are available, local news channels and their websites remain popular. Lebanon’s media landscape is predominantly under the control of sectarian groups – whether it be TV, radio, print or online. It is important to note that the political system in Lebanon is characterized by religious proportionality: A total of 18 denominations are officially recognized, but three big groups dominate by means of an institutionalized balance of power in parliament. The smaller religious groups are guaranteed certain contingents of parliamentary seats.

Some broadcasters are owned by individual politicians; some are allied with specific political parties or their coalitions. Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his family, for example, own the TV channel Al Mustaqbal, the "The Daily Star" newspaper as well as numerous other online and offline media organizations. Parliamentary President Nabih Berri owns shares in the National Broadcasting Network and its affiliates, while Hezbollah controls a huge media network, which includes Al Manar TV and Al Nour Radio. In addition, the structure of the Lebanese media landscape encourages foreign entities – especially Saudi Arabia and Iran – to invest in these companies in order to expand their influence.

Small country, many media outlets

With 10 private dailies in three languages and over 1,500 weekly or monthly magazines, Lebanon produces almost half of the Middle East’s periodicals, according to a Reporters Without Borders study. In addition, there are also nine TV stations and around 40 radio stations.

Lebanon has a diverse media landscape. More and more media companies are betting on the expansion of digital media but strategy remains unclear. Al-Mustaqbal, for example, recently shut down its daily newspaper - pressure from the online sector had grown too strong, forcing them to put more emphasis on digital media. But the cedar state has repeatedly found itself in difficult political situations. Sometimes, the country lacks a president for an extended period of time, or the formation of a new government drags on for several months - and the economy has remained weak throughout. Journalists in Lebanon might agree that digitalization is positive for their work, but they also complain that their employers have not yet taken advantage of its full potential.

As journalist and journalism teacher Daoud Ibrahim says, "Many media companies have not yet managed to adapt themselves to new developments in technology." Overall, the websites of many media houses do not meet current online journalistic standards, although, according to the expert, certain websites, such as www.naharnet.com, do exist that at least know how to use multimedia tools.

Recommendations:

Quality content vs. clickbait:

Journalist thinks it’s important to emphasize context and analysis. Online journalism is not just about "clickbait." As Maharat Foundation writes, "The quality of media content is the basic criterion for consumption in a symmetrical relationship where demand increases as quality increases and decreases when it is lost.”

Specialization as a journalist

There must be a support ecosystem for entrepreneurs, hopes for more journalists who can write about issues such as digitalization, start-ups, and innovation, in order for this sector to also be reflected in the media landscape.

New media law

In Lebanon, there is no law to protect a journalist’s freedom of expression online. Lebanon needs a new media law that includes the online sector, to keep pace with digital developments.

Journalistic independence

The legal situation for journalists must be improved in order for digital media in Lebanon to gain a firmer footing. To enable digital media to play their role as a reliable and independent source of information, financing and digitalization within the sector also need to be improved.