Traffic safety solutions and strategies should be based on the field assessment of country’s traffic situation and analysis of data collected from roads on a daily basis, a Swedish transport official has stressed.


Speaking at the “Vision Zero Qatar-Sweden Power Talk”, Jonas Hermanson, project manager at the Swedish Transport Administration and managing director at SweRoad (Sweden), said that the concepts derived from the successful Swedish traffic safety model could be modified for Qatar’s traffic conditions based on data and information collected from country’s roads. 
Speaking on the Swedish experience, he said talking on the mobile phone - either by holding it or in hands-free mode - while driving was not a significant cause of accidents. However, texting was a major cause and considered a violation, he pointed out.
“Data collected from Swedish roads indicate that using mobile phone for calls is okay, yet we have been forced to consider it as a traffic violation by European Union directives; otherwise, we would not have 
considered it so,” he added.
However, Hermanson pointed out that talking on the phone while driving could be considered a violation in Sweden based on the assessment and investigation of 
individual cases when accidents take place.
Further, he said it has been noted that driving with a speed limit of 80km/h is safer than higher levels because the motorist would be able to exercise more control over the vehicle. 
He also observed that in the case of Sweden, roundabouts were not practical on highways, while on town roads, accidents at roundabouts could be less serious due to 
low speeds.
Summing up the process, he said it involves monitoring the traffic situation and roads, collecting data and analysing the same to devise solutions based on practical 
experiences.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Thamer al-Kuwari, technical support officer at the National Command Centre (NCC), Ministry of Interior, talked about the functions and roles of the NCC in managing traffic on Qatar’s roads. 
He explained that the NCC was established in 2006 to control different kinds of situations during the Asian Games. Today, the centre is considered the largest operation room in the region. 
Through CCTV cameras installed around the country, the NCC monitors the traffic situation on a daily basis. The system locates congestion points and manages them accordingly in collaboration with all 
departments concerned.
Lieutenant al-Kuwari spoke about the “NJM system”, wherein accidents could be managed swiftly and potential congestion cleared within a few minutes. The NCC has also launched Talaa to report violations through surveillance cameras set up at 
various points. 
He said the system could communicate directly with individual motorists through their phones when they block roads so as to move their vehicles.
Besides, the NCC has launched the Masarak application, which can be downloaded onto any smartphone free of charge. The application can provide adequate guidance for motorists on how to reach their destinations smoothly. Further, the centre uses air support, wherein a helicopter flies over different roads twice a day during peak hours to provide live assessment of the situation so that immediate action could be taken.
Discussions at “Vision Zero Qatar-
Sweden” will conclude today.