SAUDI ARABIA

Mosques to promote traffic awareness

April 18, 2018
A road accident occurs every minute in Saudi Arabia, which is ranked 33rd worldwide in traffic accidents. — File photo
A road accident occurs every minute in Saudi Arabia, which is ranked 33rd worldwide in traffic accidents. — File photo

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Mosque podiums will soon be used to create traffic awareness among the public.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance and the Traffic Department will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect.

Officials from the Agency for Mosques Affairs held talks with senior traffic department officers at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh on Tuesday and agreed to sign an MoU for this purpose.

Awareness will be spread through Friday sermons and social media interaction of imams or prayer leaders and khateebs who deliver the sermons.

Saudi Arabia has one of the world’s largest road accident rates, reporting an average of 460,000 accidents annually.

Sheikh Azib Bin Saeed Al-Misbel, deputy minister for mosque affairs, emphasized his department’s readiness to cooperate with the traffic department as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to reduce traffic accidents and ensure road safety.

He highlighted the significance of traffic awareness programs to bring down the number of road accidents that have claimed thousands of lives across the Kingdom and caused material losses worth billions of riyals.

“If we can provide awareness to the elderly and the youth through various educational and cultural programs it would contribute to reducing traffic violations and accidents considerably,” Al-Misbel said while speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al-Bassami, director general of the traffic department, thanked the ministry for its cooperation.

“We have given top priority to awareness programs to reduce road accidents. Friday sermons will play an important role in this respect,” Al-Bassami said, adding that Islamic speakers can influence people and encourage them to follow traffic rules.

Traffic accidents are a major health hazard in Saudi Arabia, particularly during Ramadan.

Burst tires due to intense heat were identified as the common cause (39%) of accidents.

A traffic accident occurs every minute in Saudi Arabia, a senior officer has said, sounding alarm bells on the critical need to address the problem. Saudi Arabia is ranked 33rd worldwide in traffic accidents.

Experts said Saudi Arabia suffers an estimated SR3 billion annually in economic losses from traffic accidents.


April 18, 2018
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