By Husam Al-Sheikh
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The Saher traffic surveillance system has succeeded in bringing down road accidents in the Kingdom by 38 percent, according to the latest statistics released by the Traffic Department.
A report issued by the department said the automated monitoring system has not only brought down the accident rate, but also has reduced the severity of accidents by 20 percent.
Road accidents result in an average of six injuries for every eight cases in Saudi Arabia. The international average is one injury for every eight accidents, which means the rate of road casualties in the Kingdom is still very high.
The report said the Traffic Department has conducted numerous campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of traffic violations and the causes of road accidents.
The national loss due to road accidents in the Kingdom is estimated at 4.7 percent of total losses in the country, which is very high if compared to the proportion of national loss due to road accidents in Australia, England and the United States, which does not exceed 1.7 percent.
Former head of the National Traffic Safety Committee Ali Al-Ghamdi has said the main reason of road accidents in the Kingdom is a lack of awareness of traffic safety laws in the community. All boys should be taught about traffic safety regulations before they reach the age of 18, he said.
“The design of some roads needs to improve and there are numerous residential areas that do not have any traffic officers monitoring them.
The traffic officers are not diligent in executing their duty and are often lenient in booking traffic violators,” said Al-Ghamdi.
He added that some drivers still have very dangerous habits like using mobile phones while behind the wheel.
