Increasing population and rise in number of vehicles in Qatar has led to a spike in accident cases. According to statistics by the Hamad Medical Corporation, every year more than 4,000 vehicle crashes occur in Qatar that causes over 600 major injuries resulting in around 200 deaths. Road traffic injuries are identified as one of the leading causes of death in the country. One out of eight deaths (12.5 percent) is caused due to road accidents.
A change in driving behaviour can bring down the instances of accidents significantly. Studies done recently suggest that the use of mobile phones while driving and exceeding speed limits are the major traffic violations and causes of accidents in the country.
“Number of accidents will fall sharply in Qatar if drivers develop a little patience. Drivers honking and flashing headlights to go ahead is now a common sight. These people also do not hesitate in overtaking from the wrong side. This kind of behaviour increases the chances of road accidents,” said an expatriate living in Al Wakra.
A recent study by the Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at Hamad Medical Corporation on driving in Qatar has found that those who used mobile phones while driving had a higher number of fines for not obeying traffic lights (45.3 per cent) and for exceeding the speed limit (48.2 per cent).
Another study by Qatar University indicated that Qatar has the world’s highest fatality rate from traffic accidents considering its population.
The menace of rising accidents can be tackled by people’s cooperation and stricter implementation of traffic rules, believe many. “The fine for traffic violations is very high in Qatar, but still people are not obeying rules, so only education and change in mindset will help reduce accidents,” a person commented on a social networking website.
If immediate steps are not taken to control road accidents, things will only get worse.
A study, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund and conducted in collaboration with the Traffic Department and the Qatar Statistics Authority, has predicted that the number of traffic accidents in the country will be about 220,000 annually by 2015.
However, authorities continue efforts to bring down traffic violations and road accidents but more steps are needed.
Around 120 radars were installed across the country and more policemen were deployed to identify traffic violators. Speed detecting radars were installed every 2 to 4 kilometres on busy roads. The cameras will identify drivers who exceed speed limits, and those who overtake from the wrong side.
