(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Sidi Mohamed / The Peninsula
The General Directorate of Traffic is working to increase the number of radars and distances between two radars will become 2.5km from existing 5km after the execution of plan, a senior official at the General Directorate of Traffic disclosed to The Peninsula.
'Currently, the distance between radars is five km which gives a chance to motorists for speeding. When the distance between two radars will decrease, the motorists will not increase the speed and observe speed limits, said Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji (pictured), Director of the General Directorate of Traffic.
He said that the General Directorate is currently working on reducing the existing space between radars that will double the number of radars.
He also mentioned that the mobile radars are more effective in reducing speed violations compared to fixed ones because in that case the motorists expect the mobile radars anytime so they are more careful while for the fixed ones, people know about their positions and reduce speed accordingly.
About the speed limit in the streets, Al Kharji said that there is a committee from the General Directorate of Traffic which studies the speed limit in streets and the decision is taken in collaboration with The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal' and the National Traffic Safety Committee.
On the new amendment in the traffic law, he said that 'traffic law is a developing law and not static. It is upgraded according to circumstances and requirements. For example, the traffic department recently doubled the fine for overtaking from the right side to QR1,000 from QR500. Also the fine for illegal parking of cars in slots reserved for people of special needs has also been raised to QR1,000 from QR500.
Among the important things that will be included in the new amendments of the traffic law, he said that under new amendments riders in the backseats have to wear belt because 'we noticed that the majority of vehicles were found free of damages after accidents while riders had serious injuries which means that not wearing seat belt caused their forced escape from the vehicle.
The new amendments may witness increase in fines on some violations especially the ones which causes accidents.
Replying to a question about the electronic link between the General Directorate of Traffic and the insurance companies, he said that the vehicle owners will be able to renew their road permits (istimara) online after link established which he hoped would be established by the end of this year.
On smart cars's use for driving tests, he said that it is still under test and 'we have met with driving schools in this regard to see their readiness but some of them are not yet ready and when it will be introduced, it will end complaints from trainees related to test results.
About the radar fully made in Qatar, he said that it was still under evaluation process to check its performance in high temperatures and harsh weather conditions. It meets world standards and specifications and will be used to catch violations like speeding, failure to use seat belts etc.
To take care of their lives and lives of road users, Al Kharji advised the youngsters to respect the traffic laws specially the speed limits because he said that most of the traffic accidents were occurring due to speeding. 'They also must wear seat-belt because all the statistics show that the vehicles after accidents found free of damages while riders exposed to serious injuries which indicates that wearing seat-belts can save them from serious injuries.
He advised the youth to visit hospitals to see the victims of traffic accidents to learn a lesson. About spreading traffic awareness among people, he said that the General Directorate of Traffic is doing the best to protect road users, and when the traffic department increases amount of fine for some traffic violation, it is not done to collect money rather the aim is to curb the violations which cause accidents.
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