The number of road accidents in the Matar Kadeem area has come down considerably after the implementation of the new traffic law, a senior official attached to the Traffic Department said yesterday.
"There has been a significant decrease in the number of accidents since our department promulgated the new system of monitoring offences based on points," said Captain Ali Rashid Al Athba.
The success of the new system can be gauged from the fall in the number of fatal accidents. For instance, there was a 21-day period between June and July when not a single death due to accident was reported.
The decrease in the number of accidents is not just limited to Matar Kadeem; there has been a general decline in the number of accidents, major or minor, in Doha.
"Indeed, there has been a significant reduction in the number of traffic deaths in the last three years. It was 199 in 2007 as compared to 270 in 2006,” Brigadier Muhammad Abdullah Al Maliki, Coordinator at the Traffic Department, had told The Peninsula earlier.
The number of minor accidents recorded by the Traffic Department in Matar Kadeem between January 1 and August 5 this year was 20,445. A total of 308 motorists suffered minor injuries while 34 had major injuries. Only six people died this year.
"The new rules are very strict," said Roydon Thuring, who works at Ras Laffan. "Motorists are now aware of the points that accumulate against their name with every offence they commit. With the penalties being stiff, few motorists dare to jump signals or break speed limits."
Ajitabh Singh disagrees with this view. "The number of accidents may have decreased, but rash driving and dangerous overtaking still prevail. This puts law-abiding motorists and pedestrians at great risk," said the Communications official of Consolidated Gulf Company.
Some residents took a holistic view of the issue, pointing to the growing population of the city, which is putting pressure on the arterial roads. Most also noted the increase in the number of vehicles. Last year, nearly 100,000 new vehicles were registered.
Captain Al Athba concurred. "The number of new vehicles being registered is going up," he said. "This is natural since the country is developing and the population is growing."
"You don't have to be a genius to figure this out," said Thuring. "What needs to be done to bring down the traffic density on the roads is to scrap vehicles that are more than 15 years old."
The new traffic law has a provision for this, however, its implementation is on hold.
The Pen
Lol, obviously someone ISNT a genious because you need better road networks, more over passes, more underpasses, scrap ALL round abouts, create more commercial areas NOT in the samel location etc.. etc... etc...
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