Saudi Gazette Speeding and reckless driving have ended the lives of many people in Saudi Arabia over the last 20 years, yet most drivers stubbornly refuse to release their push on the gas pedal. The statistics on road safety in Saudi Arabia are grim and improvements are too slow. The General Directorate of Traffic stated in a report that an average of 17 residents in the Kingdom die in a road accident each day. The World Health Organization found Saudi Arabia to have the world's highest number of deaths from road accidents and the victims are males aged between 16 to 36. Over the past two decades, Saudi Arabia has recorded four million traffic accidents, which has led to 86,000 deaths, 611,000 severly injured of which 7 percent in permanent disabilities. The major cause of traffic accidents in the Kingdom is speeding, which accounted for 42% of all reported traffic accidents, according to a study conducted by Eng. Ali Saeed Al-Ghamdi at King Saud University. Almost a third of traffic accidents in Riyadh are due to drivers violating the traffic signals, closely followed by 18 percent people who take illegal U-turns. Other dangerous driving activities include — sudden stops, speaking on the cell phone while driving, general disregard for safety signs and most importantly is the carelessness of using the seatbelts. Less than two percent drivers involved in car accidents in Saudi Arabia wear their seatbelts, compared to 62 percent in the USA and 90 percent in Canada. Studies show that seatbelts can reduce the chance of death or serious injury from a car crash by almost half. Another major problem is the number of minors found behind wheels in Saudi Arabia. It's a common phenomena to see children craning their necks to look ahead while driving. A study by the King Saud University showed seven percent teenage drivers were involved in accidents compared to 2.05 percent in the US in a year. The government and the media have launched several campaigns to curb speeding and careless driving in the Kingdom, but have not acheived much success. More shocking reports reveal that Saher employees, who put a fine on drivers for violating traffic laws, have also been physically attacked. Statistics also show that one out of every eight cases of traffic accidents worldwide, some form of physical disability occurs. In Saudi Arabia six out of eight accidents result in physical disability. This figure alone should be a wake-up call for all irresponsible drivers. The Rehabilitation Hospital in King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh has launched an awareness campaign to show intermediate and high school students the dangers of traffic law violations. Their slogan is ‘Wild driving is the leading cause of disability'.The team is inviting students from different schools to attend educational lectures and witness patients in hospitals, who are being treated for their physical disabilities that resulted from car accidents. Some students also went ahead to personally meet the patients, who told them about their pain, injuries, psychological impact, and the challenges they suffer from their disabilities. The Rehabilitation Hospital in King Fahad Medical City provides rehabilitative services for patients with spinal cord dysfunction, stroke, acquired brain injury, amputation, other neurological disorders and musculoskeletal conditions, along with physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, swallowing therapy, and other nursing and medical support facilites. __
