The Ministry of Interior represented by the General Directorate of Traffic said that speeding and using mobile phone while driving are the two main reasons behind traffic accidents.
Director-General of the General Directorate of Traffic, Major General Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, said — during a meeting with Imams held yesterday at the Department headquarters as part of the efforts to save lives and public property — that the two violations are common among all drivers and not limited only to young people, or adults, who are expected to be role models for others.
He called on compounding efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of those two violations. Al Kharji pointed out that despite increase in the number of vehicles and population, the directorate was successful in bringing down accidents and their resulting deaths in the last few years.
“It is important for religious speeches to focus on the harmful impact of speeding and using the phone while driving,” he said, noting that this could have a positive impact on young people in particular.
Colonel Mohamed Radi Al-Hajri, Director of Traffic Awareness Department, explained that this meeting comes from the conviction of the General Directorate of Traffic of the importance of religious discourse in the modification of traffic behaviours, and in implementation of the letter of intent, signed by the General Directorate of Traffic three years ago with the Department of Mosques at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
He recommended Imams to allocate time weekly or monthly to urge people against violation of traffic laws. The Imams sent a message to young people that they should abide by traffic rules and preserve their lives and the lives of others.
Regarding the issue of driving safety during winter season, First Lt. Abdul Wahid Ghareeb Al Enzi, Awareness Officer at the General Directorate of Traffic, said that speed is one of the most important causes of traffic accidents during rainy weather in addition to not leaving a distance between vehicles.
Motorists, specially drivers of trucks and transport vehicles, should take more care while driving in such weather conditions which require everyone to be vigilant and to drive with responsibility, while following traffic safety rules, Al Enzi said at the Ministry of Interior Website.
Capt. Fahad Bu Hindi, Traffic Officer, said that the patrols play a major role on all roads during rain or in water-gathering places to guide motorists, calling on motorists to stop their vehicles in cases of absence of visibility, adding that traffic patrols prevent trucks from driving completely in such cases.
