Traffic site aims to help Israelis avoid congestion and accidents

In late August, four Israelis were seriously injured in a head-on collision in Jordan Valley. The crash, which occurred between the Almog and Arava junctions on Route 90, sent two others to the hospital with moderate injuries.

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Such collisions aren’t uncommon in Israel. The latest report from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows that 41 people lost their lives in car accidents in July. Eight of those fatal accidents occurred in the West Bank. The previous month, the government agency reported 46 total fatalities.

In 2016, 42 people died in fatal car crashes in the West Bank. That number was higher than the previous year, when 34 people were killed.

Officials say the figures for 2017 are on track to reach an historic high.

Car accidents, whether fatal or minor, can cause serious traffic disruptions, increasing the risks of another accident.

One traffic site, Traffic Zebra, is looking to help drivers stay safe on the road by avoiding congestion and accidents on nearby roadways. The site is currently expanding its coverage of car crashes in the Middle East, with plans to include traffic and accident updates for Israel in September. The site currently covers the UAE.

Along with traffic and accident reports, Israelis will also be able to find nearby gas stations.

Avoiding traffic and accidents will help streamline your commute, but the site’s helpful services may also help save your health.

A new study from a team of professors in Atlanta, GA – with the help of professors from Israel and other U.S. states – found that levels of some harmful air pollutants are twice as high inside vehicles than previously thought.

That particular study focused on vehicles in Atlanta, where commuters spend an average of three days stuck in traffic each year. The traffic situation isn’t much better in Tel Aviv.

A 2016 report revealed that vehicles travel at about 11 kilometers per hour when entering or leaving Tel Aviv during morning and afternoon rush hours. The problem? More than half a million cars are traveling into the city every single day.

That’s not surprising considering Tel Aviv is home to more than half of the jobs in all of Israel. Most commuters take the highway to the city, making commutes to and from work long and painful.

Some quarter-million new cars roll onto Israel’s roads each year, contributing to the growing traffic problem. The OECD says that, on a per kilometer basis, the country’s road are four times more crowded than any other member organization.

Lack of public transportation is contributing to the problem, the OECD says. Train systems are limited. Buses rarely go where commuters need to go. Only about 10% of travel in Israel is by public transportation.

The amount of traffic on Israel’s roads is three times the average in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and six times the average in the Czech Republic and Norway.

Traffic Zebra’s expansion into Israel may help commuters find alternate routes to ease congestion and avoid accidents. The expansion is expected to roll out sometime this month.