Assistant Director of Media of the Traffic Awareness Department, Major Jaber Mohamed Rashid Odaiba said that the Ministry of Interior's interest in organizing this awareness-and-keeping seminar on ways and causes of safety on roads and tracks is based on ensuring the safety of all people and clarifying the rights and duties of pedestrians, who represent a large proportion of road users.

Major Odaiba explained that the aim of this awareness seminar is to cultivate a culture of respect for pedestrian crossings, respect for their rights, and help them to cross safely, even in the absence of a light signal on the streets and inner corridors, as well as to educate pedestrians themselves about the rules and laws governing the use of the road.

First lieutenant, Abdulrahman Al Aawi from the Traffic Studies and Information Section in the General Directorate of Traffic said that there's a number of recommendations to be implemented in order to achieve the target of reducing traffic accidents by 2022.

Al Aawi said these recommendations include providing more pedestrians crossings, building barriers in main streets, install traffic signals in intersections and reflectors.

As per the traffic law, there will be three types of penalties:

1) If pedestrians do not use zebra crossings or areas specifically dedicated for crossing, they can face fines of QR 200.

2) If pedestrians do not follow traffic signals while crossing the traffic intersection, they can face a fine of QR 500. A pedestrian will also be charged QR 500 if they cross a procession or a military parade.

3) If the pedestrian is not using pavements when available or walking in the middle of the road, they can face a fine of QR 100.

Al Aawi also added that these recommendations include the emphasis on expanding walkways in pedestrian-crowded roads and building metal berries to prevent crossing in places not designated for pedestrian crossing.

With regard to the efforts of the Traffic Awareness Department, Captain Abdulwahid Gharib Al Anzi, traffic awareness officer at the Department of Awareness, said that the aim of this seminar, and the subsequent awareness campaign for pedestrians, is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries resulting from the accidents of the run-off, by educating pedestrians about appropriate transit places, and informing them of the importance of using reflective clothing in dark places, and the safest way to cross streets and roads.

Lieutenant Zaid Ibrahim Al Marri from the Technical Office of the General Directorate of Traffic, talked about the legal aspect and the violations related to pedestrians, which include three categories, the first relates to walking in the road, walking in places dedicated to cycling and not to adhere to the extreme edge of the road against traffic.

The seminar, which was attended by Assistant Director-General of Traffic, Colonel Nasser Darman Al Hajri and a number of officers and representatives of different communities, discussed the duties of the patrols towards pedestrians, the correct rules that pedestrians must follow when crossing the road and efforts to provide more transit outlets such as bridges and others and the intensive awareness programs before moving to the implementation of the system of violations.

Source: QNA and The Peninsula Qatar

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Abdullah Amir

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