The General Directorate of Traffic at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) launched the 37th edition of the GCC Traffic Week along with the rest of the GCC under the auspices of Issa bin Hamad al Azri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Judicial Council on Sunday.
The Week, themed ‘Driving Without a Phone’ will also be marked with a series of events and educational sessions including an intensive awareness exhibition on various aspects of traffic safety at the Mall of Oman ensuring the participation of the public from various quarters.
“This year’s Gulf Traffic Week is paying enormous attention to the fact that the majority of the accidents are caused by recklessness and usage of mobile phones while driving,” said Lieutenant Colonel Saif bin Ahmed al Ramadhani, Director, Executive Office, National Committee for Road Safety at the DG of Traffic Safety, Royal Oman Police.
According to him, the major reasons behind traffic accidents in Oman are three.
"Major reasons behind road accidents are speeding, usage of mobile phones and driving when one is tired and according to studies, the root cause of 87 per cent of the accidents is attributed to human error," he said.
"Accidents happen predominantly due to human behaviour, human errors and reckless driving and a small number of accidents are caused by faulty vehicles because our departments pay careful attention to decide the safety measures of the vehicles from time to time. When it comes to road factor, the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology (MoTCIT) is sparing no stone unturned and is building better roads and other infrastructure for better transportation," he added.
“Of course, there needs to be a certain amount of public awareness as pedestrians using wrong areas to cut across the road also cause accidents, another major concern as unscientific usage of roads by pedestrians can result in major accidents.
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