The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was commemorated, under the slogan, Roads Have Stories, this week in Qatar. A number of high-ranking officials, experts and world leaders in the traffic safety stream attended the meet and stressed their commitment to implementing safety plans, mobilising energies and efforts to make roads safer and adhering to relevant international practices.
It was a solemn occasion — as the slogan suggests — to remember the millions of victims of road accidents in the world and the suffering of their families and friends, in addition to the great loss of resources due to the big economic cost involved in treating injuries. The efforts of the police, ambulance services, civil defence, and others who lost their lives to prevent the recurrence of such incidents have to be appreciated as well.
According to the World Health Organization, every year the lives of more than 1.25 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury. The number of road deaths is estimated at about 3,400 deaths a day. One person is killed every 25 seconds. Traffic accidents were the main cause of death for people aged between 15 and 29 years.
Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product. Without sustained action, road traffic crashes are predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030. Despite taking several measures around the world traffic accidents are in a steady increase.
According to WHO figures nearly 5 million people could be saved from road accidents during the period 2011-2020 by taking the necessary steps and programmes to improve road safety and provide the necessary techniques and measures. The study shows an increase in average speed is directly related both to the likelihood of a crash occurring and to the severity of the consequences of the crash. For example, an increase of 1 km/h in mean vehicle speed results in an increase of 3% in the incidence of crashes resulting in injury and an increase of 4–5% in the incidence of fatal crashes.
Qatar has paid great attention to providing safety for all road users in the country. The National Strategy for Traffic Safety was launched and all governmental and non-governmental sectors participated in efforts to reduce the road accident mortality rate in 2017 by 75 percent lower than that of 2006. It’s a welcome step that the Ministry of Transport and Communications was keen to work together and coordinate with all the competent authorities in the State in order to provide traffic safety on road networks and reduce accidents through effective plans, programmes, and strategies.
