This is in reference to the front-page news report, ‘Road crashes causing huge financial losses’ (Dec. 31). I always feel sad to note that precious lives are being lost in vain due to the utter negligence of the men behind the steering wheel. I also would like to add that as per survey conducted in 2010, an average of 17 people are killed in road accidents each day in the Kingdom. Based on the total population of the country this is one of the highest, if not the highest in the world. In most cases thrill seekers have been behind the wheel rather than those who care for their lives as well as the lives of others. The pictures taken of these accidents, as we see them in the media, look really weird, prompting one to wonder: “how could this happen?”
According to another report over the past two decades there have been 4 million traffic accidents, leading to 86,000 deaths and 611,000 injuries, seven percent of whom were disabled for life. The other amazing thing is that a third of the accidents in the country was in the capital, Riyadh. In a recent study conducted by the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), a Riyadh-based scientific research group has warned that if the current rise in road accident rates is not curbed, we will see over 4 million traffic accidents a year by 2030. Is it not frightening to think about? I would like to see an effective campaign in Arab News and its sister publications in this respect. Let us save those lives, lost in vain by reckless driving! —
S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Road accidents and reckless driving
