The Deadly Middle East

Traveling in the middle east is generally understood to be a high risk activity. With terrorism, war and oppressive governments, one must be careful. A Good rule of thumb is to avoid automobiles. Not because of car bombs but because of the drivers. The number two cause of death in the Middle East is road accidents.

On urban highways in the Middle East, cars pinball across lanes at more than 100 mph, and crashes are so gory and damage so great that one might think the mangled vehicles were destroyed by a bomb.

The carnage has emerged as a public-health crisis -- the second-leading cause of death, after heart disease, in wealthy Persian Gulf countries

Iran has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world -- 38 deaths per year per 100,000 people. One person is killed every 40 minutes in accidents in Iran, and one is injured every seven minutes, according to the Iranian state news agency.

Anyone riding in a cab here in a major US city of course suspected that. The worst time to be on the road is the evening rush hour during Ramadan. The whole fasting thing gets drivers riled up for the after sunset dinner.

Right Wing Nation