Qatar: Road safety drive cuts number of motor accidents in 1H
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2016
The number of accidents on the roads of Qatar fell by 6% from January to June this year to 136,574, as the authorities make a big push to boost road safety, amid widespread concern about irresponsible driving.
Fewer people were killed in road accidents in Qatar during the first half of this year, compared to the same time last year. However, more people were injured in motor accidents during the first six months of the year, reported Doha News citing the latest government figures.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the vast majority of accidents (97.6%) during the first half of the year did not result in any injuries.
However, the number of accidents with injuries rose by 13.5% to 429 this year (378 in 2015), the Ministry said in a statement. The total number of people injured rose by 7.2% from 4,296 in 2015 to 4,606 in the first six months of this year.
The good news is that the number of fatal accidents on the roads showed a drop of 22.7% in the first half of this year. Some 99 people lost their lives during the first six months compared to 128 deaths from traffic accidents from January to June 2015.
The mortality rate on the country’s roads fell to 6.3 per 100,000 people. This is significant compared to the figure of 12.2 per 100,000 in 2013.
The use of mobile phones while driving continues to be a leading cause of traffic accidents in Qatar. The Ministry has warned that it is stepping up its patrols and traffic officers would issue on-the-spot fines for drivers caught texting, calling or using social media while behind the wheel.