Corniche crash highlights road hazards in Doha

Last week’s major accident that killed two Sri Lankan expatriates and injured more than 20 others near Ras Abu Aboud overbridge on the Corniche road  should serve as a wake-up call for all concerned authorities.

Just the day before, Gulf Times had published a report, “Nightmare on Expressway”, about the problems being faced by motorists on a section of Al Shamal Road and on an increase in the number of traffic violations in Qatar.

Another report, “Driving turns nightmarish on D Ring Road stretch” published yesterday, echoed the views of many motorists, that too many approach and exit roads in a 1km portion, was aggravating the traffic congestion.

Official statistics show that the number of registered traffic violations during 2012 increased by 39.2% from the previous year but the number of deaths decreased by 0.5%.

There were a total of 1,167,346 traffic violations in 2012 compared to 838,796 in 2011. The increase in the number of violations could be due to more vehicles on the roads and an increase in the population.

There was an increase of 7.6% in the number of vehicles registered in 2012, against 2011. The total number of registered vehicles in Qatar stood at 876,039 in 2012 compared to 814,373 in 2011.

In 2012, a total of 44 Qataris died in traffic accidents, constituting 21.6% of the 204 deaths. The total number of road traffic fatalities decreased 10.2% from that of 2011.

As many as 71.6% of the total number of traffic deaths last year were young people aged 18-39 years old. Out of the total road traffic fatalities, 72 were drivers (35.3% of the total number), 76 passengers (37.3%) and 56 pedestrians (27.4%).

In 2012, there were 4,218 road accidents which caused injuries, an 11.6% increase from the previous year. Accidents causing severe injuries numbered 605, a 3.2% increase from 2011.

About 45.8% of the accidents causing injuries and 52% of the road accident deaths were due to negligence and aggressive driving.

Speeding violations captured by radars at a speed of over 41km from the maximum allowed amounted to 36,652 in 2012 while it was only 21,564 in 2011.

In a Letter to the Editor, published in Gulf Times yesterday, a Health Safety and Environment professional pointed out that the driving habits of some and the skills and competences of others behind the wheel pose grave dangers for the rest, and these are only compounded by the poor design of interchanges.

The writer suggested a number of solutions, the most obvious being more stringent enforcement of the current driving regulations, with highly visible police patrols actively stopping and prosecuting those offending.

There are a number of ways to resolve the alarming traffic problem. But the process has to be set in motion, without any further delay.