A total of 1,539 accidents were reported in the Sultanate of Oman in 2021, according to the National Centre of Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Extended lockdowns and travel restrictions as part of the Covid-19 restrictions might have helped road accidents to come down from 2,815 in 2019 to 2,442 in 2020 and 1,539 in 2021.
As per the annual statistics for 2022, collisions between vehicles was the main cause of accidents (633), followed by hitting fixed objects (308) and run over (297).
A total of 1,621 people were injured in these accidents and the majority of them were male drivers (733), female drivers (142), 332 male and 216 passengers, 122 male and 26 female pedestrians.
A total of 434 people lost their lives in these accidents and of these the majority of the victims were male drivers (223).
A total of 288 Omanis lost lives in road accidents in 2021, compared to 146 expatriates.
The report said that 79 male and 14 female pedestrians also lost their lives in these accidents.
Most of the accidents were reported in Muscat (371), Dhofar (203), Al Dakhiliyah (211), North Al Batinah (176), South Al Batinah (198) and Al Wusta (71).
Muscat topped the list of the number of deaths (78), followed by Dhofar (61), North Al Batinah (81), Al Wusta (36), Al Dakhiliyah (50) and South Al Batinah (35).
Speed is the main cause of accident-related deaths (233), followed by negligence (61), overtaking (32), not leaving a safe distance (16), bad behaviour (54), defects in vehicles (15), and flaws in the road (11).
The Capital Market Authority in a report released last year said the number of claims recorded by insurance companies was mostly for minor traffic accidents.
While admitting accidents have come down, CMA said, “Adherence to safety requirements and traffic instruction issued by Royal Oman Police (ROP) is the best means for protection from major accidents and the resultant impact on the lives and properties. The insurance service will only mitigate the financial damage not the moral damage.”
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