BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: A total of 7,000 baby car seats will be distributed to newborns at the Hamad Medical Corporation Women’s Hospital from the first day of Ramadan as part of the “Baby Car Seats” initiative under the recently launched “One Second” national road safety brand.
The new initiative was launched by the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and Maersk Oil Qatar to promote the use of car seats among the young and vulnerable to reduce injuries and fatalities in serious car accidents.
Assistant Secretary General for Medical Affairs at SCH, Dr Saleh Ali Al Marri stressed raising awareness of seat belts and child car seats and safety and security procedures on roads is the third goal of the SCH in implementing the health aspect of the National Road Safety Strategy led by the MoI.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the launch of the initiative yesterday at Sheraton Doha, Dr Al Marri lauded the quality of projects adopted by the NTSC in collaboration with various entities, including the “One Second” brand.
“Such campaigns play an important role by raising awareness of child car seats to guarantee their safety,” he said, adding parents should set an example for their children in always using seatbelts.
These campaigns, he said, are not just targeted toward lowering mortality rates but also reducing injury rates and that the latest campaign is just the beginning of many to come to create awareness not only to Qataris but also on expatriates.
“We are now focusing on children, but we will also be concentrating on adolescents and other categories of the society in the future,” said SCH Director of Public Health Dr Mohammed Al Thani, adding since 2006 mortality rates on the road have decreased significantly because of the campaigns.
Director of Traffic Department Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, emphasised use of seatbelts should become a habit and should not just be done in the presence of police.
“We hope this campaign would improve safety on roads, avoid accidents and decrease mortality rate,” said Brig Al Kharji, adding he hoped there would be laws in the future which would make it obligatory to wear seatbelts even at the back seat.
“Not only children but also adults should use seatbelts even at the back seat. Accidents cost the government lots of money,” he said.
In 2006, Brig Al Kharji said, deaths on roads reached 270 and with the increase in population together with the number of vehicles with the number of licenses issued at108,000 last year, this would further rise to more than 400, posing a big challenge for them.
He called for a renewed cooperation among motorists on the roads, increase use of signals and decrease on speed when approaching schools, mosques and residential areas to reduce fatalities and injuries.
Launched in May this year, ‘One Second’ serves as the umbrella of all campaigns for road safety in the country.
Hamad Ashkanani, Media Relations and Social Media Advisor at Maersk Qatar, said since its launch it garnered about 10,000 followers in Facebook.
“One Second, and other related initiatives, are examples of the quality projects that Maersk delivers. We have long term plans and collaborate closely with several official bodies to sustain such projects and achieve our objectives in serving society,” he said.
The Peninsula
