DOHA: Contrary to claims being made by the Traffic Department about a decline in traffic accidents in Qatar following implementation of the new traffic law, data released by the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) yesterday show a 13 per cent rise in accidents in 2011, compared to 2010.
The total number of road accidents in 2011 was 5,000, up by 13 per cent compared to the previous year, the QSA said in a statement issued yesterday in connection with the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims which takes place on the third Sunday in November every year.
A huge majority- 84 per cent- of casualties involved men and 58 per cent of the victims were those aged between 18 and 40 years. The QSA data however do not speak about the total number of casualties and is it not clear whether they also indicated an upward trend.
Statistics also showed that 4.3 per cent of the casualties were fatal in 2011. The total number of Qataris injured in traffic accidents during the year was 1,122.
Although the report indicates an increase in the number of total accidents, experts believe that it does not give a clear picture of the situation in the absence of comparative data about the casualties and fatal accidents.
“There can be variations in the figures depending on the definition of a traffic accident and it is important to specify the number of major and minor accidents as well as the casualties. Rise in the population should also be taken into consideration while analysing such data. According to the statistics released by the Traffic Department, the number of casualties have dropped in 2011, compared to the previous year,” said an expert, who wished not be named.
According to the QSA report, the Civil Defence Department carried out 356 rescue operations in 2011 and 57 per cent of such operations were related to road accidents. According to UN statistics, every year about 1.3million people die and another 20 to 30million people get injured in traffic accidents.
“The United Nations has underlined that casualties resulting from road traffic threaten the achievements attained in economic and human development. World losses arising from traffic casualties have been estimated to be US518bn costing countries 1 percent to 3per cent of the GDP. Such losses in some low-income and middle-income countries account for more that the total development assistance received by them,” said the QSA statement. The Peninsula
