Accident sites on highways in Riyadh will be easily located with the new system recently launched by the Ar-Riyadh Development Authority. — Archives RIYADH – The Ar-Riyadh Development Authority (ADA) has launched a system for locating traffic accidents on expressways, which will speed up responses to reports of accidents, help accident victims and reduce mortality rates, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The system will also help with long-term planning because locations with the highest number of accidents will be analyzed to develop traffic and engineering solutions to tackle the issues, in collaboration with the special force for road security in Riyadh region. The Higher Committee for Traffic Safety, under the chairmanship of Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz, Acting Emir of Riyadh region, has approved the system. The group, which includes representatives from concerned government authorities, is working to achieve objectives established by a traffic-safety strategy that includes projects and repairs. Execution of that work has been assigned to authorities participating in the Higher Committee for Traffic Safety, according to a five-year plan; its results are assessed periodically. The group, now working on its second five-year plan, which runs through 2014 (1435H), has executed the first five-year plan for the years 2003 to 2008. Its assessment indicates that the work has resulted in substantial improvements in most of its major elements. Analysis of traffic accidents in Riyadh has shown a drop in mortality rates and serious injuries in the city, from 479 deaths in 2003 to 256 in 2010, a 47 percent decrease. In 2003, there were 1,546 serious injuries in traffic accidents; in 2010, the number dropped to 910, a 41 percent decrease. The decreases come at a time when the number of vehicles in the city has increased and the number of daily trips went from 5.8 million in 2003 to 6.2 million in 2009.
