Abdu Khal Okaz newspaper IF the Traffic Department embarked on an initiative of selecting groups of young people in every city and take them to visit victims of road accidents in various hospitals so they can see those whose bones were broken or lives crippled, this would serve as a warning to these young men against the potential dangers of reckless driving. This lesson would be a practical one rather than words that simply poured into the ears without any impact on hearts. Let us start teaching this lesson to those who are under detention for various traffic violations. The reality of how we deal with accidents has reached an advanced level that can also be witnessed by the world based on a report released by the World Health Organization. The report classified our roads as the most dangerous ones around the world and they reap an average 19 fatalities on a daily basis. The number of fatalities on Saudi roads has grown by 10 percent so far in 2012 as pointed out by Zeina Nazer, a road safety expert and official of the Intelligent Transport Systems Arab. “Saudi Arabia spends $6 billion per year on the management of motor accidents, and $250 million per year on medical care for those injured on Saudi roads,” she said. These are just figures related to the number of road accidents. Such accidents also lead to the potential loss of breadwinners in families. This means that any such figures do not convey the human or material loss of those affected. We live in a country where blood is being shed and lives are being disrupted on a daily basis. In this scenario, it is highly surprising that we are not rushing to discover effective means to reduce the bloodletting. I don't think that the rising rates of accidents are unknown to the concerned authorities. We — as those who follow up and receive news of accidents — know that the issue is confined to three major causes, namely the poor condition of some roads, lack of safety means, and the irresponsible behavior of some drivers. It is noted that proper attention toward the enforcement of traffic rules and regulations is limited within city borders. At the same time, we neglect the major causes of accidents. For example, negligence of highway safety results most often in accidents and deaths. Those roads that connect cities and villages are the hot spots of accidents. If an official from the Ministry of Transport spares one day to roam about in his car on the outskirts of his hometown, he will discover immediately that these roads need a lot of modifications, starting from asphalting and more safety signs and measures. Our roads are in need of many things that we are not giving any attention to. It is enough for us to hear further news of accidents and fatalities and blame speed and recklessness as the main factors for such accidents. However, there are other root causes. The authorities do not hold accountable those who are responsible for the existence of such causes. If we don't worry about 19 road fatalities a day, then what do we worry about? Had we been in a war, we would not have lost 19 lives daily. Scores of people who sustain injuries in these accidents eventually end up in an inn of disability losing their productivity, with their rehabilitation costing the government millions of riyals. Even with all this, we do not find any worries preoccupying us as they are supposed to be inevitable in such disastrous situations.
