CAIRO, Nov 14 (Aswat Masriya) - Trucks delivering newspapers will be excluded from the new decision restricting traffic hours for trucks from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. within cities, said Transportation Minister Hani Dahi.

The minister told state-run news agency MENA that excluding trucks delivering newspapers reflects the "appreciation for the role of media and the message it delivers."

The decision is due to be implemented nationwide starting Saturday.

The restricted traffic hours are limited to cities only, MENA earlier quoted Director of the Department, Mostafa Darwish, as saying. Trucks are allowed to travel on all highways, desert, and agricultural roads at all times.

Egypt's cabinet issued the decision on November 5 after a school bus crash on an agricultural road in Beheira left 18 killed.

The prosecutor general referred to trial on Tuesday a truck driver and the school bus driver for being responsible for the crash.

Road accidents are a common occurrence in Egypt, being among the prime causes of death in the Arab world's most populous country.

According to a report released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) in June, the number of car accidents occurring in Egypt in 2013 rose by 0.4 percent when compared to the 2012 figure.