TABRIZ, East Azarbaijan Prov. -- Two people were killed and six others injured when a car collided with a truck on the Tabriz-Marand road Friday.

Local police blamed the accident on recklessness of the car driver, who made a sudden swerve to the left, IRNA reported.

Iranian roads are some of the most hazardous in the world. Iran has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world with an average of 200,000 reported annually.

On average, over 15,000 people are killed and 87,000 injured in traffic-related accidents in the country annually. In statistical terms, one person is killed every 40 minutes and one injured every seven minutes.

Dilapidated vehicles, insufficient emergency road assistance, lack of communication facilities to swiftly relay information on traffic-related accidents and inadequate emergency centers on roads are the main causes of the high death toll in road accidents in the country, traffic experts say.