The official made the statement following the first meeting of the Health Executive Council held under the chairmanship of Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah on Tuesday.

“The council, comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Health, including deputy ministers, strongly felt the need of such a campaign considering the enormous number of road accident victims who are admitted to hospitals every day,” the official said.

Saher, which was introduced in April this year, is an automated traffic control and management system that covers major Saudi cities. It uses digital cameras linked to the Ministry of Interior’s National Information Center. The system is designed to improve the level of traffic safety by using the most advanced technology in the field of intelligent transportation (ITS) to create a safe traffic environment.

“The new traffic system aims to prevent bloodshed and deaths among motorists and pedestrians,” the official said, adding that on an average 18 people die each day on the Kingdom’s roads.

He added that road accidents have an impact on the Ministry of Health’s budget since it has to spend a substantial amount to treat victims of man-made tragedies.

From 2005 to 2009, 30,000 people died and 170,000 were injured in 2 million accidents throughout the Kingdom, he said, adding that there were also some 45 million traffic violations during that period.

The council also decided to send a circular to all regional directors of health to carry out the campaign in all of the Kingdom’s hospitals, clinics and primary health-care centers.

During the meeting, Al-Rabeeah requested the directors to give top priority to the implementation of the circular since the matter involves the fate of road users. He said that with various expansion programs taking place in the Kingdom, there is a strong need for preventive health programs to cater to the increasing population in fast developing towns and cities. According to a report from the Ministry of Health, an average 6,000 people die in road accident every year. The Traffic Department said on Tuesday that last year there were 485,931 road accidents including 6,548 deaths in the Kingdom. These incidents amount to SR13 billion worth of material losses to the government and individuals.

Prior to the implementation of the new traffic system, the Ministry of Interior successfully carried out an experimental program across the Kingdom. It also got the green light from the Ministry of Finance to implement, operate and maintain the Saher system.

According to Dr. Hisham Nadra, secretary-general of the council, the members also discussed a draft budget and reviewed a report on total quality management to ensure satisfactory performance at all levels in health institutions. The council also focused on patient satisfaction.