26 road deaths in just 18 days in Oman

Energy Wednesday 17/August/2016 21:28 PM
By: Times News Service
26 road deaths in just 18 days in Oman

Muscat: Twenty six people have been killed in the last 18 days in different fatal road accidents across the Sultanate.
An entire family, including two children aged six and four, died yesterday in a road accident in the Aseela area of Jalan in the Sharqiyah region.
The latest tragedy on Oman’s roads has taken the death toll to eight in less than 24 hours.
A Royal Oman Police (ROP) official said the accident took place as the vehicle had careered out of control.
The bodies of the victims were transferred to the Jalan Hospital. Four people had died—including a mother and her son—and 10 others were injured in two separate traffic accidents in Thumrait, Dhofar, according to a reliable source at ROP.
The first accident took place at 11:40am after a vehicle carrying 10 family members had hurtled out of control. A mother and her son died and eight other family members had suffered medium to serious injuries. They were transferred to a local health centre before being moved to the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah.
The second crash, which took place less than two hours later and 10 kilometres away on the same road, resulted in the death of two people from the United Arab Emirates. Two Omanis also suffered injuries in the crash.
The injured were also transferred to the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah. Last Friday, five nationals had died in a road crash involving three vehicles in Adam. Five lost their lives and six were admitted to the hospital with injuries. Three vehicles were involved in the accident, according to an ROP official.
On August 9, four Omanis and an Ethiopian housemaid were killed in an accident in Haima. On August 2, an Indian salesman lost his life in an accident in Al Kamil in the Sharqiyah region.
On July 31, five people, including two police officers and two expat from India were killed in a horror smash in Al Khoud. On August 1, two Emiratis, a son and a father, died in a crash in Haima.
Safety experts in Oman advise motorists to follow the traffic rules and avoid bad driving behaviour which might lead to more casualties on our roads.
Mark Pudwell, a road safety expert in Oman, said: “This is tragic news and will come as a huge shock to those hard working road safety campaigners who’s battle to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads now appears fruitless. Globally there are millions of road traffic incidents every year which results in thousands of people’s deaths however, the actual number of deaths is greatly reduced in those nations who have adopted and embraced the seat belt culture. Sadly Oman is not one of those nations.”
“Countless studies and surveys have irrevocably shown that wearing a seat belt in the front and rear seats saves lives, sometimes even in the most horrific incidents. All too often drivers and passengers are seen belt less on the road and often the most innocuous of incidents results in terrible injury or death simply because people are not appropriately restrained in their vehicles,” he said.
“An adult without a seat belt in the rear seat becomes a missile during a rapid deceleration incident and can kill people sitting in the front seats. Speeding and careless driving can kill, using a mobile phone whilst at the wheel can also kill, not wearing a seat belt will kill,” he added.
“It’s a really alarming situation, when 26 lives are lost in just 18 days and many more are suffering pain at hospitals and home,” said Neelesh Sogani, a road safety expert in Oman.
“Recently, authorities amended the traffic law in Oman and from September 1 it will be implemented with lot of stringent penalties and punishment. But the important thing is that we cannot wait until the new law is implemented - every single life is important and non-replaceable for the families and dependents,” said Neelesh.
Stringent rules
“Authorities have done enough by making stringent rules, rolling out campaigns or road shows and now it’s time for us as individual drivers to think seriously, to come forward and make a big difference while riding on roads. “We all need to understand the importance of every single road safety rule and accept them in our hearts and minds. I have personally investigated many incidents and seen that using seatbelt by all occupants in the vehicles saved their lives whereas ignorance to simple rules costs many lives.
“Whenever we ignore the rules, we need to visualise the pain of the families,” he added.