The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has lauded the achievements of Qatar in the field of traffic safety and also complimented the efforts being made by the authorities to reduce road traffic accidents in a big way. Speaking at the ‘Conference on traffic accidents and enhancing traffic safety,’ yesterday IRU’s associate director Patrick Philip said relevant studies have proved Qatar has shown a strong commitment to attain the United Nations’ goals of sustainable development.
The IRU official said the traffic safety achievements in the last few years have made Qatar a leader in the region. Philip said their forum is committed to working with the competent authorities in Qatar to achieve the goals set as part of its National Traffic Safety Strategy.
“Together with Qatar, we are committed to build a safe and sustainable traffic system that promotes economic growth and sustainable development.”
In his speech the IRU official said road safety is the main focus of their plans and efforts and they consider the topic as one of the fundamentals of economic growth, community prosperity and a decent life for one and all. Philip said traffic accidents cause nearly 1.2mn deaths annually across the world with developing countries having the highest mortality rates. He added that the number of deaths was particularly high among those in the age group 15 -29. While calling for stronger measures to reduce road traffic accident deaths, the IRU official stressed the need to lay more emphasis on the human factor in traffic accidents.