*Week one to focus on blocking of yellow boxes
The Ministry of Interior launched Sunday a traffic awareness campaign entitled "Accident-Free Summer" to raise awareness about common traffic violations and enhance the knowledge of road users in order to further reduce the number of road accidents.
Announcing the launch of the drive, Director General of the General Directorate of Traffic Brigadier Mohamed Saad al- Kharji said the Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with all partners, continue in their efforts to enhance traffic safety and achieve the goals and objectives contained in the strategy of traffic safety, especially the reduction of accident deaths.
Qatar is witnessing a remarkable decline in road traffic fatalities, registering 5.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants last year, compared to 5.5 in 2016, which is below the world average.
Brigadier al-Kharji said that most of the road accidents, especially those that result in deaths and injuries, are due to the human element- people who drive carelessly while engaged on mobile phones.
He noted that speeding increases during the summer because of the easy flow of traffic and the absence of traffic congestion. He called on drivers to respect the rules and to stick to speed limits.
Brig al- Kharji pointed to the problem of blocking the yellow box at intersections and signals, which he said causes traffic accidents and obstructs the flow of vehicles.
He said the first week of the "Accident-Free Summer" campaign will focus on the offence of stopping at yellow box, adding that blocking the yellow box leads to the disruption of traffic at intersections, causing traffic congestion.
He stressed that drivers in the event of congestion should not move their vehicles, although the signal allows them to pass. This will help vehicles in the corresponding paths to move, he said. Motorists should not stop inside the yellow box or even parts of it.
Article 72 of Law No. (19) of 2007 says: “Despite having priority or if the traffic light indicates green, a motorist may not move the vehicle if such act will disrupt or hinder traffic, and whoever has priority may waive such priority if traffic conditions so require.”
The General Director of Traffic stated that cameras at intersections will monitor the yellow box violation and the offence would attract a fine of QR 500, which has to be paid in full.
Meanwhile, Brigadier al-Kharji added that 50 fancy car numbers will be available through Metrash2 application, as of 12:00 pm next Tuesday at fixed prices.
He said that a buyer of one of these numbers has no right to buy another number until 72 hours after his previous purchase in order to give a chance for more buyers to obtain those numbers, noting that the prices range between QR 15000 and QR 3000.
