Speed to blame for half of all road accidents in Oman

Muscat: Speeding was blamed for more than half of Oman’s traffic accidents, injury and deaths in 2016, according to a newly released National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI)report.
Coinciding with Traffic Week, the infograph illustrated the staggering number of accidents due to errors when driving.
The year, in total, saw 4,721 accidents, with 692 people losing their lives due to car-related accidents. Speeding led the list, as the cause of 2,499 accidents, 2052 injuries, and 378 deaths.
“Negligence” and “bad behavior” follow closely, as the causes of road accidents. Additionally, negligence accounted for 103 deaths last year, and resulted in 672 accidents. Bad behaviour was blamed for 705 accidents, and 55 deaths in 2016.
While bad behaviour was the main cause of 8% of all accident-related deaths last year, poor car maintenance was almost equally deadly, at 7 per cent, and resulting in 184 accidents, 64 injuries and 51 deaths in 2016. Drivers who did not maintain a safe distance from other vehicles were involved in 326 accidents last year, 183 injuries, and 12 deaths. Though fewer cars were involved in accidents from overtaking, at 183, serious driving violations caused 66 deaths in 2016.
Finally, the NCSI lists “Other Reasons” as being another cause of accidents, at 152 accidents and causing 4 per cent of all deaths.
The ROP launched the 33rd GCC Traffic Week on Sunday, under the slogan #YourLifeIsATrust.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) will hold several events to raise awareness about traffic safety among the public.
The ROP, along with other security authorities, such as the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA), will seek to educate the public, especially children, about traffic safety through a series of activities, events and lectures this week. The GCC Traffic Week exhibition was launched at Muscat City Centre on Sunday morning, featuring several stalls dedicated to raising awareness among mall visitors about the recent achievements and programmes the ROP and PACDA are carrying out to reduce accidents and fatalities in Oman. Brigadier-General Engineer Mohammad Awad Al Rawas, Director-General of Traffic, remarked that along with its GCC neighbours, Oman would strive to educate the public about the importance of safety on the roads.
“Traffic week is considered a window for those in the traffic department in the GCC states to raise the flag in unity to develop a sense of awareness in the community, in general,” Brig. Gen. Al Rawas said.
“The message ‘Your Life is a Trust’ is to ensure that you keep yourself safe,” he added.
Many children will be seen visiting the exhibitions and learning from officers and security personnel about the dangers on the streets during traffic week.