Road deaths in Riyadh fell by over 50 percent between 2004 and 2008, with an even greater drop registered in motor accident injuries, a traffic safety committee heard on Wednesday. The Higher Committee for Traffic Safety, chaired by Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz, Acting Emir of Riyadh, was meeting to review the five-year plan which concluded last year and heard that the death rate fell from 35 persons per 100,000 vehicles to 17 during the period of the plan. Injuries fell from 125 to 52 per 100,000 vehicles. Abdul Latif Aal Al-Sheikh, Chairman of Projects and Planning at the Riyadh Development Authority said that new traffic laws were currently being put into force as part of continuous work with the Riyadh Traffic Department. “The plan focuses on the main causes of serious traffic accidents such as exceeding the speed limit, jumping traffic lights, and sudden swerving into different lanes,” Aal Al-Sheikh said. “We are also working with the Traffic Department on indices registering traffic infractions and surveys of roads which have high rates of violations. We have had considerable success in reducing driving speeds on most roads in the city of Riyadh,” Aal Al
