Image used for representation. Pic: Salim Matramkot/ The Peninsula
Doha: Decline in aggressive driving has helped in reducing road traffic fatality rates significantly in the country thanks to strict traffic rules, Director-General of General Directorate of Traffic, Major General Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, said.
Al Kharji also said that the road traffic fatality rate is expected to further decrease in coming time. “The cases of aggressive driving have witnessed a sharp fall which is visible on the roads. Motorists have become more serious in complying with the traffic rules,” said Al Kharji.
Director-General of General Directorate of Traffic, Major General Mohammed Saad Al Kharji
He added that the number of deaths in road accidents has declined remarkably this year compered to the last year and it will further decline as the positive trend is expected to continue.
Speaking to The Peninsula at a recent event, Al Kharji said that adherence of motorists (citizens and expatriates) to the traffic rules was growing day-by-day as traffic police was receiving good response from road users.
Al Kharji said that electronic gadgets which divert attention of motorists during driving will be brought under the preview of traffic law which is amended every two years to keep pace with fast development of the country.
“For example, google glasses were not available when the law was amended last time. So if anyone wears them, it is not a violation as per the law. However, under new legislation, google glasses would be a violation because they divert attention of motorists like reading while driving,” said Al Kharji.
The Director-General of General Directorate of Traffic hinted that fastening seat-belts for children in backseats of car would be mandatory in the new legislation. “I want fasting of seat-belts for children in backseat to be brought under the preview of the law because it is very necessary for the safety of children,” said Al Kharji. According to the figures released by the General Directorate of Traffic recently, the cases of violations of overtaking from right side have declined by over 68 percent in 2018 compared to 2017.
Similarly, the cases of driving without a licence recorded a decline of 16.1 percent while the violations of parking in places reserved for people with special needs decreased by 22.4 percent during the study period. The General Directorate of Traffic launched recently ‘Accident-free Summer’ awareness campaign to make roads further safe.
