Road accidents costing govt QR45m a year
Web posted at: 7/3/2006 7:23:13
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA • Road accidents are costing the state QR45m per year and this figure is likely to go up to a whopping QR1.8bn in the future if remedial steps are not taken to curb rash and reckless driving. So far this year, there have been 4,507 road accidents.
With 200 new drivers and their cars hitting the road daily, the accident figures are likely to go up even further from the present frightening numbers. According to the Traffic and Patrol Department's statistics, in 2001 there were 85 deaths, 142 (2002), 159 (2003), 164 (2004) and 206 in 2005, an Arabic daily reported.
Taking 2003 for example, the figure works out to 23 deaths per 100,000 population which compares very unfavorably with the global norm of seven fatalities per 100,000.
In 2005, 3,740 road-related injuries were reported, which works out to more than 10 per day. Dr Hani Al Khilani, a counselor with the Accidents and Emergency Department of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said: "For each death case there are three cases of permanent disability. Of these, 79 per cent are in the 15-42 age bracket."
Statistics show that between 1980 and 2003, there were 2,357 fatalities and 30,637 serious injuries due to road accidents. In the same period, there was a total of 63,662 accidents.
The Accidents and Emergency Department has reported that in 2004, 79 per cent of its cases were admitted because of road accidents.
Dr Ali bin Saeed Al Ghamdi, Professor in Traffic Engineering and Transportation at Saudi Arabia's King Saud University, who provided the figures on financial losses to the state, said: "Some of the reasons behind such a high accident rate are the number of new cars on the road and construction work."
Ali bin Saeed, who presented a paper during Road Safety Week in March said: "It is not just the Traffic Department who should be responsible. There needs to be a strategic national plan to bring down accident levels by 10 per cent annually. The Traffic Department has already taken several steps like intensified patrolling and imposing severe financial penalties."
Road Safety Week was first launched in 2004. However, ironically, the situation worsened as the number of accidents increased. When the Supreme Council for Family Affairs probed into the reason why this happened, it noted that the campaign was not properly carried out and there was no coordination with the media to spread awareness.
Among other reasons cited for the alarming increase in road accidents is the easy availability of car loans from banks thus making for more vehicles on the road. National and expatriates alike favor their personal vehicles over public transport and the number of conferences being held here means several roads are often sealed off to facilitate VIP movement.
Ali bin Saeed has put forward some ideas which may cut down on the number of accidents. Chief among these is awareness to be spread by family, schools and even mosques. Youngsters should be encouraged to look for other diversions other than driving cars fast which would mean encouraging sports and the setting up of social clubs.
Fawzi Al Buhairi, associated with the Qatar Technical Inspection Company (QTIC) says 17 per cent of the tyres on vehicles running on Qatar's roads are not suitable for the country's extreme weather. A further 22 per cent of tyres in use are five years' old or more. Fifteen per cent of accidents are caused by bad tyres, he said. Fake spare parts are also another cause of accidents, he said.
Among his suggestions to improve the accident situation are improved road design, well-lit streets, proper pavements for pedestrians, skid-proof road surfaces, main and branch roads should meet international requirements and speed bumps placed in residential areas.
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