Motorists parking their vehicles on pedestrian crossings and pavements could get a penalty for traffic violations. The Traffic Department registered some 2,019 such violations in February 2017.
Also, last month, some 192 violations were registered for parking in slots reserved for people with special needs, according to the department officials.
Some 1,390 motorists were booked for overtaking from the right side, especially at intersections and signals.
Some 288 drivers and co-passengers were booked by traffic police for not fastening their seatbelts, while 163 motorists were fined by traffic police for using mobile phones and other devices while driving, last month alone.
“Fasten your seatbelt and don't use in mobile devices while driving. Remember, your life is more important than a call. For their safety , motorists must fasten seat belt, and must committed to limited speed. ,” the department tweeted, yesterday.
The Department also urged people against using mobile while driving as it could distract the driver and put the life of others on the road at risk.
“To reduce traffic accidents we must start traffic awareness from the family to spread it among other individuals. There is a link between reducing traffic accidents and the increase of social responsibility participation,” said Dr. Khalifa Nasser Al Khalifa, Ph.D. Dean, College of Engineering while addressing the symposium at GCC Traffic Week.
The symposium is organised by Traffic Department under the title “the community partnership and its role of reducing traffic accidents”.
The increase of a number vehicles in Qatar consider among a prominent challenges which reflect the importance of social responsibility for institutions and its role of reducing accidents.
Speakers have agreed on the importance of social responsibility of reducing traffic accidents. “Spreading awareness among individuals will push them to commit traffic rules instead of search of cameras and Radars which force them to commit only because of afraid of punishment and legal fines,” Al Khalifa said.
“In 1996, there was only 130,000 vehicles in Qatar and over the last few years the number has increased to more than 1.8 million. Every year there was some 750,000 vehicles registered due to the economic boom, while most of our streets are still under construction and maintenance,” he added.
He also added that “the traffic safety is an international problem facing all the countries. More than 1.3 million deaths and some 20 to 50 million serious injuries are caused by road traffic accidents every year, in addition to hundreds of minor injuries.”
Speakers also agreed that spreading traffic values is not only responsibility of traffic department alone, it is responsibly of all including families. Along with teaching children values and morals, children must also be informed about traffic values.
