Tuesday 30 / April / 2024
Muscat: A horror crash that claimed five lives was caused by a 17-year-old with no driving licence, prompting calls for awareness campaigns in the Sultanate.
The young driver, allegedly drunk behind the wheel, lost control and ploughed into four people, killing them and a friend who was in the passenger seat of his own car. The tragedy has prompted road safety campaigners and motoring experts to call for awareness programmes and increased patrols by the Royal Oman Police (ROP).
Read here: Horror smash kills five as drink driving linked
The accident happened around midnight Sunday in SQU St, Al Khoudh, Muscat. The teenage driver had knocked a delivery driver off his motorcycle then fled the scene in panic, according to officers. He was contacted and told to return to the scene of what officers described as a minor accident. In the meantime, two ROP officers arrived at the scene as well as a second delivery driver from a local fast food restaurant.
When the teenager returned to the scene, he lost control of his vehicle and ploughed it into all four people, killing them and a friend of his in the passenger seat of the car.
The young driver is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, according to police. As he is 17, he will be tried in juvenile court and is under the legal age to even hold a licence, which is 18 in Oman.
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More awareness programmes must be conducted in schools for students who are on the verge of obtaining driving licences, campaigners say.
Daryl Hardie, CEO of Safety First, said that this accident is unfortunate and that raising awareness and educating young people about safe driving must be a priority. “Obviously obtaining a licence properly is paramount. There is a law that you should not drive without a licence no matter if you are an Omani or an expat, but I think the largest element is alcohol and as far as I know there is zero tolerance for drink driving in the Sultanate,” said Hardie.
“The younger the generation, you must teach them that they are responsible for their actions and they are responsible for other people. If you are in an accident it’s very rarely it’s just you involved,” he added.
The 17-year-old was allegedly drunk and could face several charges due to the accident.
According to the ROP Traffic Law, Article 23: “To be issued a driver’s licence, the applicant must be at least 18 years old.”
While the driver was not 18, the punishment for driving without a license is issued in Article 49 which states imprisonment for a period not more than three months and a fine of not more than OMR300 or either of these two punishments.
Unfortunately, the driver was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and killed people in the accident.
The Traffic Law, Article 50 states that the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no more than a year and a fine not more than OMR500 or either of these punishments if that person is speeding, negligent, under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, overtaking a vehicle in a dangerous area or a no overtaking zone, or imposing danger to an individual and his property.
If it results in the death of a person or causes harm which forces the victim to miss work for more than 10 days, the punishment shall be imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than five years.
“Obviously they need to increase the age limit as a starter. Second, they should be stricter on handing out driving licences to everyone. Third, be stricter on drinking and driving and on alcohol for under aged teens. But above all educating the youth is the most important thing,” said Tarik Khorshi, a concerned citizen.
“Maybe it should be increased to 21 where some of these teens will be mature enough to understand and value life... theirs and others’,” he added.
His Highness Hamed Al Said refuted that claim and said, “It should stay 18 because that’s it; you’re an adult and you are going to be treated like an adult. If you kill somebody while drunk driving there isn’t any juvenile court for you.”
Mohammed Fahad, a taxi driver in Muscat, said that most often those who drive recklessly on roads are young drivers.
“It’s hard to verify whether they are underage drivers or not. However, it’s a fact that the majority of the reckless drivers are young ones,” Mohammed, who ferries passengers from Ruwi to Ghala daily on several trips, told Times of Oman.
Reckless drivers
According to Mohammed, authorities should consider this issue seriously and take steps to keep the roads safe from the reckless drivers.
Meanwhile, Indian social workers said that the Indian victims’ bodies were scheduled to be repatriated to Kerala tonight.
The Indian victims are Shanavas Attumpuram and Sainul Abdeen from the south Indian state of Kerala.
Ummar Eramangalam, the Indian social worker who was coordinating the repatriation process, said that the bodies are scheduled to be repatriated yesterday.
“Meanwhile, the company officials and we are in touch with legal advisors to follow up the traffic accident insurance claim for the victims. Sainul is survived with two small girls aged 13 and 9. Sainul was the sole bread winner of that family. Insurance money would come as help for them,” the social worker added.
Khalid Al Balushi, a driving instructor in Muscat, said underage drivers on roads are a common sight.
“I often see them. They risk their lives and others too,” the instructor said.
About people approaching to learn driving, he said that to obtain learner’s licence, the person has to get a ROP letter verifying their age, so, there is no way that underage people can learn driving from an official school or an instructor.
“Whomsoever, needs to learn driving should be 18 years old. Now, young drivers are manning big vehicles and that depends on expertise. It will be risky for a fresher to man a big vehicle. So, better to avoid it,” the instructor added.
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