DOHA: The General Directorate of Traffic has undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the run-over accidents in  areas considered among the highest in terms of deaths.

“The awareness campaign conducted by Media and Traffic Awareness Department at the General Directorate of Department to promote safety awareness includes and targets all road users.

“One of the awareness drives focused on workers in Industrial Area because the percentage of traffic accident was high there and we noticed that one of the reasons was that some roads were without lights so we selected those places,” said Colonel Mohammed Radhi Al Hajri, Director, Media and Traffic Awareness Department.

He added, “The Department talked  to authorities concerned and installed lights in these places as well as speed humps and also distributed a yellow-green reflective bracelets that can be strapped around the arm to keep motorists aware of the presence of pedestrians at night, especially when they are crossing roads.”

Al Hajri, while speaking to a local radio, added, “This problem will be solved when the pedestrian bridges are completed  which will enhance the safety and comfort of pedestrians by providing safe crossing on busy streets.”

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment had announced that it would construct 15 pedestrian bridges in different places in Qatar, in coordination with Roads Department at the Ministry of Transport. A number of these bridges have been completed and the latest one which was inaugurated recently is located at Al Matar Street costing about QR15m and is 67m long and 4m wide.

The average deaths in road traffic incidents in Qatar last year were 5.4 per 100,000 persons, a figure far below than world average of 17.4 per 100,000 persons. The traffic statistics of 2017 showed remarkable progress regarding reduction in the number of deaths and traffic injuries.

Colonel Al Hajri pointed out that over the last decade deaths due to road accidents had been decreasing due to many efforts of the concerned authorities including traffic awareness campaigns, road traffic control, driver qualification, test development, vehicle inspection and quality of ambulance services among others.

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