DOHA: The roads in Qatar have become much safer over the past decade due the efforts taken by concerned authorities. The road accident mortality rate has fallen from 14 deaths per 100,000 people in 2013 to 5.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017, a figure lower than the national traffic safety strategy of 6 deaths per 100,000 population until 2022.
This rate is well below the global average of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people and in high-income countries of 9.2 per 100,000 people, despite the high number of vehicles and drivers in the country. Qatar leads the Gulf region and the region in general traffic safety, QNA reported.
With the huge economic boom in Qatar over the past two decades and the large population increase in record time as a result of rising numbers of expatriate workers, the traffic situation has become a concern for the Ministry of the Interior and a challenge that must be dealt with in a systematic and thoughtful manner.
With a forward-looking vision, Qatar adopted a comprehensive framework to ensure a secure transport system for all road users, taking into account all the latest developments and challenges.
The first steps to institutionalise the government’s efforts to control the traffic situation and to stop deaths and waste of public and private property was the issuance of the Traffic Law of 2007, which significantly reduced traffic accidents and deaths and injuries.
Official statistics have showed that the traffic law was the starting point for the continuous success. The death rate of traffic accidents decreased from 16.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2006 (one year before the implementation of the law) to 14.6 cases in the following year.
The rate was more than 23 deaths in 2005. The rate of traffic accidents and injuries resulting from these incidents at all levels decreased as well.
The formation of the National Committee for Traffic Safety in 2010, under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Interior, was to strengthen this march, respond to developments in the country in various fields, and develop a deliberate and orderly framework for traffic work shared by all stakeholders in the State.
The committee is responsible for developing policies and plans in the field of traffic and developing it, studying the problems related to it, proposing solution methods, and initiating coordination and cooperation between the various actors working on the proper regularity and traffic flow.
The committee is also interested in proposing the development of legislation related to traffic and road and transport engineering, in accordance with international standards and in line with the requirements of the continuous development of roads and transport, and other related topics. The committee, which includes representatives from a number of ministries and agencies in the country, is making a great effort to coordinate efforts and mobilize support for the Ministry of the Interior’s directives to reduce traffic accidents. These efforts culminated in the launch of the National Strategy for Traffic Safety in 2013, which seeks to reduce traffic accident victims, decrease the number of deaths resulting from these accidents to six cases per 100,000 people, as well as reduce the number of hazardous injuries resulting from them.
the Ministry of the Interior launched the Second Implementation Plan 2018-2022 for the National Strategy for Traffic Safety, which benefited from the results of the comprehensive evaluation of the first operational plan. It absorbed the new challenges, strengthened the community partnership, and tightened the mechanisms of monitoring the commitment to implement the projects covered by the plan for the five years covered by the strategy.
The Ministry of the Interior confirmed on more than one occasion that the second operational plan for traffic safety 2018-2022 is a road map to reduce the number of traffic accidents and address the consequences of human suffering resulting from them in accordance with the requirements of sustainable development and Qatar Vision 2030.
The implementation of the second plan was done by more than 32 stakeholders compared with 13 in the first phase, and work plans were increased by more than 450 plans compared to 198 in the first phase.
The plan also took into account the highest degree of cooperation between the bodies of the government sector, the private sector, civil society organizations and all segments of society in the implementation of projects and the promotion of efforts to achieve road safety and traffic security.
The plan adopted an approach to avoid traditional operational practices and encourage the adoption of effective initiatives through the development of desired objectives that commensurate with the country’s growth and the challenges it faces.
One of the most important objectives of the second phase of the road safety strategy is to reduce road traffic deaths by 50 percent (to 130 deaths in 2022), reduce the number of cases to 400, and implement the United Nations sustainable development goals for sustainable cities by building road and transport networks and adopting an unconventional planning system.
The second phase aims to reduce congestion by 5 percent per year, reduce infant mortality to 17 percent of total deaths by 2022 (32 percent in 2016), and begin implementing the UN sustainable development goals related to congestion reduction, urban planning and networks roads and transportation, improving traffic safety, and linking improved traffic safety with economic growth, national security and population policy.
The strategy also seeks to develop a system of traffic awareness based on modern scientific principles, and implement targeted programs that lead to measurable results and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the strategy.
The “Accident-free summer” campaign launched by the Ministry of the Interior six weeks ago has been highlighting the ministry’s interest in ensuring the safety and security of drivers and pedestrians and their property, and reducing the number of deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents. Through its organised campaigns and in implementation of its strategy of traffic safety, the ministry seeks to raise awareness of the common traffic violations and enhance the knowledge of road users in order to further reduce accidents on the roads.
