Doha: As winter season approaches and more people have started camping in the desert, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reminded everyone to adhere to the precautionary measures for a safe and enjoyable trip.
Under the campaign theme, "Pleasant Season and Safe Desert Trip", MoI has listed down few tips and reminders for a well prepared trip to the desert.
Preventive Measures
Adherence to the preventive measures implemented in the State as per the decree No. 17/ 1990 on infectious disease, issued by the Council of the Ministers in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus disease such as:
- Adhere to maximum number of 4 passengers in a vehicle including the driver except for members of the same family.
- Wear face mask wherever it’s mandatory.
- A green status in the Ehteraz app is a must.
- Maintain social distancing by keeping distance between you and others.
The Ministry also listed tips to ensure traffic safety before and during a camping trip. The tips are as follows:
1. Ensure the safety of the vehicle prepared to drive to the campsite.
2. Be vigilant while driving, especially in abnormal weather conditions (fog, rain and wind).
3. Adhere to the safe driving rules on the road such as:
- Follow the specified speed.
- Keep sufficient safety distance between two vehicles.
- Fasten the seat belt.
- Beware of wrong overtaking.
4. For the safety of your vehicle, avoid driving in the watershed and do not use the brakes suddenly.
In case of driving quad bikes, MoI urged residents and citizens to adhere to safety measures including:
1. In the case of riding quad bikes, please pay attention to the importance of adhering to safety measures such as:
- Wearing a helmet.
- Do not run over the gardens.
- Do not allow the children to drive it.
To ensure fire safety during a camping trip:
1. Choose a proper place for the stove, away from the tent, generator, petroleum liquids and from the wind to avoid transferring them to another place.
2. The fuel used for the generator should be placed in a safe and remote location
MoI also advised everyone to avoid smoking and not to use any heat source while checking the generator fuel, or when filling to avoid fuel ignition.
Electricity and heaters are a common tool used to set fire for heating or lighting inside the tent. However helpful, this is also a fire hazard.
In a statement, MoI said: "Some of us turn to set fire for heating or lighting inside the tent, which may cause fires if we do not take the required caution, especially the suffocation resulting from burning."
In addition to this, MoI urged campers to "avoid putting the heaters in a place close to clothes or keeping the stove on fire at bedtime inside the tent".
Some tips to ensure safety while using electricity and heaters:
1. The lamp operated for lighting the tent should be kept away from the clothes used in the tent and please be keen to fix it in a safe place.
2. Make sure to purchase good types of the heater.
3. Place the heater close to the nearest socket that is adequate to the current of the heater. Do not connect it with a single socket using an extension cable or other power stripes with another heater or any other device.
4. When using a gas heater, be more cautious as it is more dangerous, because any defect occurs in it or in its wires and fittings may result in congestion because of inhalation of leaking gas or carbon monoxide that comes out from the combustion process.
5. Be cautious as operating a heater using bad electrical connections or loading it more than its capacity will cause fires.
6. Do not place the heater in the corridors or near quick flammable materials or at easy reach of children. Likewise, don’t leave it working when you go to sleep so as to not become a cause for fire. It is the cause for fires.
When accompanied with children during the camping trip, MoI also lists a few tips to ensure their safety.
1. The importance of reminding the children not to play away from the camping site and educate them to keep the camping area always neat and clean.
2. Guide them to the suitable play areas that are far from the roads and streets and also from the excavations and wells.
3. Don’t leave the children alone unattended, inside or outside the tent.
4. Keep the first aid box for emergency situations.
