When talking about the rise in the number of road accidents, it should also be borne in mind that the designs of many of the major thoroughfares were conceived years ago, according to Ahmed Jolo, head of the Association.
For the past several years, tens of thousands of new vehicles and drivers have been annually joining the ever-increasing fleet of automobiles and motorists on Qatar’s roads. “We have to consider this factor as well while talking about increasing road accidents in the country,” Jolo told this newspaper yesterday.
In the old days, not more than 15,000 to 20,000 new vehicles came on the roads in a year — a number that has multiplied more than threefold over the past decade. “And now, you have so much load on these roads,” Jolo said.
According to him, the designs of the major roads were conceived years ago, and such a big explosion in the number of men and vehicles might not have been anticipated.
Asked why the February 22 Road was so much prone to mishaps and if there were faults in its design, Jolo hinted there could be some problem with the design and execution of the road project but added that one of the major reasons was that the road led to a number of busy commercial and service areas.
Then, drivers are different. Some drive slowly and abide by traffic rules, while there are others who are reckless and give a damn to rules, he added. “That also contributes to mishaps.”
Statistics suggest that more than 67 percent of those involved in road accidents last year were in the age group of 18 to 35 years. According to prominent psychologist Dr Moza Al Malki, young people have an enzyme in their brain that prevents them from considering the consequences of what they think is daredevilry, and that could be a reason why so many young people perish while driving recklessly.
“The role of the family assumes tremendous importance here. They should deal properly with their youngsters and keep the fact about the brain enzyme in mind while handling them,” Al Malki told this newspaper.
She said stringent laws and fines did not always prove deterrent against violation of traffic rules.
“That would not only make him behave responsibly on the road in future but also give him a first-hand insight into the consequences of an accident that could have been avoided by being a little careful,” she added.
An increasing number of people have been, meanwhile, blaming the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) for the increasing number of road accidents, citing dug up roads and diversions.
“You find excavations on the main roads here and there and there are too many diggings and traffic diversions, and that is one of the major causes of road accidents,” said a national not wanting his name in print.
Meanwhile, in a column in Arabic daily Al Sharq published last Thursday, its editor-in-chief, Jaber Al Harami, said road accidents were a major challenge for the GCC states and cost them a whopping $19bn a year.
That is about 3.7 percent of the global cost of road mishaps, he said. While the population of the US is so large, the death ratio due to road accidents is 21 per 100,000 people. This ratio in the GCC is 24 per 100,000 people despite the population of the region being so small, Al Harami said.
Saudi Arabia has the worst record of traffic mishaps. Citing an expert from Madinah, he said that in the past 20 years, some 86,000 people had died in Saudi Arabia in road accidents. “This is more than the death tolls in worst wars,” said Al Harami.
The problem is worsening, he said, adding that according to the Saudi expert, 7,153 people were injured in the country in traffic mishaps in 2011, while the casualties in Iraq in that year were only 4,200. “Traffic accidents are a street terror in Saudi Arabia,” Al Harami said. Meanwhile, the 29th GCC Traffic Week, organised here to raise public awareness about road safety, has received 36,000 visitors, 15,000 of them being students.
