The Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Centre (QTTSC) at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) recently hosted a training workshop on road safety audits.
The workshop, one of the initiatives under the National Traffic Safety Action Plan, aimed to provide information on the necessary approaches and tools to develop and evaluate traffic safety audits.
The engineering faculty and staff, along with representatives from local and international institutions, attended the workshop, which was delivered by Rolf Lovkvist, an expert representing the Swedish National Road Consulting AB (SWEROAD).
Commenting on the workshop, QTTSC director Prof Dr Faris Tarlochan said: “Road safety is a major concern globally, especially with the alarming rate of increase in fatalities among young drivers. Therefore, this workshop is held with the objectives to ensure the continuous efforts for providing safe roads for all. Besides conducting research at the national and global level, hosting these workshops is one of the core activities of QTTSC to raise public awareness and responsibility towards common co-operation for enhancing road safety from an academic perspective.”
The QTTSC workshop co-ordinator, Assistant Professor Dr Wael Alhajyaseen, said: “Preventive risk assessment tools, such as road safety audits and inspections, are effective and essential measures to help road authorities ensure safe traffic operations along the different elements of the road network, including construction sites and development areas, for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.”
Dr Alhajyaseen added that this course will be followed by other specialised training courses this year, targeting those working in the field of road safety locally and regionally.