Opening of all metro lines reduce number of road accidents: Official

Doha: The General Administration of Traffic has confirmed that metro has had a huge impact on reducing the number of road accidents in December, when the country hosts many major events.

Colonel Jaber Mohamed Rashid Odaiba, Assistant Director of the Media and Traffic Awareness Department, told Al Sharq Arabic daily that accidents recorded during major events held recently in Qatar were negligible and minor in nature.

He pointed out that the number of accidents this month cannot be compared to December last year as it is way lower this year. In December, the number of accidents go up slightly as there are many events held during this time in Qatar. This year was an exception.

He emphasized that the opening of all metro lines enabled a qualitative shift in transportation within Doha and reduced traffic density on roads and thus contributed to a decrease in the number of traffic accidents. He urged people to use metro more in order to reduce pressure on the roads and suggested a bigger role for metro in the upcoming events that Qatar will host, especially 2022 World Cup.

“The country attaches great importance to traffic safety, sensing the importance of preserving the human lives and economic resources of the state, without which it cannot rise and progress and keep pace with the development process and it is from this legal and humanitarian responsibility, a traffic safety committee has been established, with members from all concerned department related to the issue of traffic safety. This committee is responsible for drawing traffic policies in all fields – be it legislative, educational, health, technical or engineering – to achieve the highest standards of traffic safety in the country, in a way that preserves its human and economic resources,” the report added.