RIYADH, 20 September 2004 — As many as 2,157,907 accidents occurred in the Kingdom during the last 10 years. The number of those involved in the accidents stood at 2,89,980, of which 39,441 victims succumbed to their injuries.
These tell-tale statistics were released at a three-day National Conference on Traffic Safety that was inaugurated on Saturday by Prince Muhammad ibn Naif, assistant interior minister for security affairs.
An exhibition on traffic safety is being held as part of the conference, which has been organized by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
In his inaugural speech, Prince Muhammad referred to the growing phenomenon of traffic violations resulting in either injuries or fatalities to the accident victims. He said a major cause of accidents was the tendency on the part of motorists to run red lights.
Dr. Saleh Al-Athel, president of KACST, said the traffic safety committee had conducted 51 studies on various aspects of traffic accidents. They all identified careless driving and violation of traffic rules as the main causes of road accidents.
One of the studies conducted by KACST pointed out that 78 percent of the people killed were under the age of 45, while one-fifth were children under 15. Accidents and the resulting loss of life and property and the cost of treatment were costing the Kingdom SR21 billion annually.
Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Muqbil, director of traffic control, said Riyadh Governor Prince Salman has approved a safety strategy for Riyadh which would be implemented by the Arriyadh Development Authority. He said the main elements of this strategy are a reduction of motor vehicles’ speed, which alone is responsible for 40 percent of accidents in the capital.
Last year, he pointed out, there were over 200,000 recorded cases of speeding. The department was trying to cope with the situation by installing cameras at the entrance to King Khaled International Airport and on the highways. Traffic violations and accident-related injuries and deaths are expected to come down once a major project for traffic safety takes off in the near future. The project would involve installation of a large number of surveillance cameras and construction of speed breakers.
Col. Al-Muqbil said the safety strategy seeks to bring down the number of fatal accidents by four percent each year. “We have exceeded that target,” he said.
Speaking at the Traffic Safety Department in the exhibition complex, Faisal Yousuf Al-Rashid, public relations manager, said they will be giving away bags containing toys and stationery items on the theme of traffic safety to all visiting schoolchildren during the exhibition.
The material would also be distributed among schoolchildren in different areas of the capital as part of a public awareness campaign. The department would also be taking part in the Janadriyah Cultural Festival to create traffic safety consciousness among visitors.
Al-Rashid said that highways and traffic intersections are areas with high accident rates. A majority of the traffic offenders, he said, are young motorists with a passion for speed.
