(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Sidi Mohamed / The Peninsula
The General Directorate of Traffic yesterday observed the World Day of Remembrance for Road Accident Victims (WDR), with the theme 'Towards UN 2020 Target: Reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by 50%.
'We commemorate the International Day of Remembrance for Road Accident Victims by recalling the tragedy of the victims of accidents and evaluating the efforts of the police, ambulance and civil defence in traffic safety and as a reminder of the economic loss of accidents which costs from 2 to 8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director of the General Directorate of Traffic said yesterday while addressing the gathering at the headquarters of the Traffic Department.
He pointed out to the United Nations plans to strengthen the efforts in this framework, which has been ratified by all countries and called 'Plan of Decade 2011-2020 which invites all countries to reduce the number of deaths by 50% by 2020. The percentage of death cases declined from 13 cases for every 100,000 people in 2011 to 6-9 cases in 2016, and the percentage of deaths decreased by 22.7 percent last year compared to previous year.
Bodies like National Committee for Traffic Safety, Hamad Medical Corporation and Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center observed with Traffic Department the WDR.
The WDR is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year to remember all those who are killed or injured in road accidents.
Regarding the role of the health sector, post-incident response and the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries on the road, Sheikh Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health, said: 'It was important to remember that road accidents kill an estimated 1,250,000 people worldwide each year, in addition to 50 million different injuries causing continuous disability for victims. The injuries resulting from traffic accidents are the main cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 29 years.
'Among the initiatives adopted by the ministry are improving communication services for the ambulance service, providing more than 1,450 ambulance personnel answering thousands of calls. This has led to make the telephone response time about five seconds, and the arrival time to the scene seven minutes inside Doha, and eight minutes outside, Al Thani added.
From his part, Lt. Col. Mohammad Radhi Al Hajri, Director of Media and Traffic Awareness Department at the General Directorate of Traffic, spoke about the objectives of awareness and its role in spreading traffic awareness among the different types of the communities.
Dr Kim Greo, Director of the National Traffic Safety Office, discussed the Qatar's vision for traffic safety and the requirements of the United Nations Plan for the decade 2011-2020, and the efforts of the State of Qatar to support and improve traffic safety. He noted that there are three challenges faced by the rich, poor, and developed or developing countries — 1. Traffic Safety, 2. Cities and Congestion, 3. Economy and National Security — and these challenges that can only be met through successful safety plans.
Brig. Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director General of the General Directorate of Traffic honoured a number of the participants in the celebration including Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Sheikh Dr Hassan bin Ali Al Thani, Mariam Al Mannai, Talib Afifah, Ahmed Al Shahrani, One of the accident victims), Rashid Al Humaidi (one of the accident victims) .
On the sidelines of the activities, an awareness exhibition was held with the participation of a number authorities concerned with the road safety, to educate the public on road safety procedures.
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