By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Eighty pedestrians are killed and over 200 injured in Qatar every year. Seventy-one percent of these pedestrians die at the accident site, according to statistics released by the Trauma Surgery Section of Hamad General Hospital, yesterday.
An average of 92 percent of the victims are young expatriates— mostly workers from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, said Dr Rafael Consunji, Injury Prevention Director, Trauma Surgery Section of Hamad General Hospital. He was speaking during the launch of Second UN Global Road Safety Week.
More pedestrians are injured on Thursdays and Fridays between 3pm and 9pm and 6am and 9am. One in six victims is a child, younger than 14 years of age.
“The Trauma Surgery Section of Hamad General Hospital admits 1,700 patients every year. The proportion of pedestrians involved has risen from around 10 percent in 2007 to 12 percent in 2011 and these numbers are on the rise,” said Dr Consunji.
One in nine victims succumbs to the injuries and survivors suffer from moderate to severe injuries requiring seven days in the hospital. The Second UN Global Road Safety Week, being marked from today to May 12, will launch a campaign for pedestrian safety. It aims at reducing road accidents by 50 percent between 2011 and 2022.
“During UN Global Road Safety Week, we are spearheading a collaborative campaign to raise awareness of the vulnerability of pedestrians and the programmes being implemented to make them safer,” said Dr Consunji.
Several campaigns will be organised in schools and at Qatar University to educate students about road safety.
Steps will also be taken to create safety awareness among parents, nannies and drivers.
The National Committee in traffic Safety has specified 15 locations including the C Ring Road and Salwa Road as places where accidents occur frequently. Mohammad Al Malki, Secretary General, National Committee in Traffic Safety said that steps will be taken to reduce the number of accident-prone sites within two months.
Dr Hassan Al Thani, Head, Trauma, Vascular and General Surgery Sections, Hamad General Hospital said: “A major part of a trauma system is injury prevention. As medical professionals and road users, we will work with other stakeholders to raise awareness about road safety.”
