A 22.7% fall in number of accidents, deaths reported so far this year

The first half of 2016 has seen a 22.7% drop in road accident mortality rate and a 6.3% decrease in the number of total accidents as compared to the same period last year, Gulf Times quoted the Ministry of Interior (MoI) as saying.

The statistics released by MoI pertain to all types of road traffic accidents — minor with or without injuries, major, casualties, those involving pedestrians and others — that took place in the country during the first six months of this year.

The total number of accidents fell to 127,907 in the first six months of 2016 from 136,574 in the corresponding period last year.

A vast majority of the accidents, 97.6% of them recorded until June 2016, were minor ones that did not involve injuries.

However, injuries in accidents saw an overall increase of 7.2%, going up from 4,296 in the first half of 2015 to 4,606 this year. Of these, minor injuries accounted for 88.5% of the cases (4,078 in first half of 2016, up 7.6% from 3,790 in 2015), major injuries 9.3% (429 in 2016, up 13.5% from 378 in 2015) and deaths 2.1% (99 in 2016, down 22.7% from 128 in 2015).

Overall, road fatalities accounted for 0.06% of the total number of accidents registered, representing a 27.6% fall compared to the same period of 2015. The number of Qatari nationals killed in such incidents during this period also fell by 22.2%.

The mortality rate in road traffic accidents amounted to 6.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 47.5% lower than the international rate of 12 cases per 100,000 people. It also marked a 28.4% fall from the figure registered in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, major traffic accidents with personal injuries represented 2.4% of the overall road accidents. This also translated to 19.6 cases for every 100,000 people, which is 4.9% lower than the rate witnessed in the first half of 2015.

The number of pedestrian fatalities also fell by 33.3% this year compared to the first six months of last year. There were 26 such deaths until June this year, down from the 39 registered in the same period in 2015.

The MoI has undertaken a number of initiatives, including installation of hi-tech radars and cameras, to curb dangerous driving practices in the country. It has also stepped up efforts to prevent motorists from using mobile devices while behind the wheel.

Courtesy: gulf-times.com