The Ministry of Interior has tightened procedures to control those who disregard the traffic law after recent traffic statistics revealed eight traffic accidents happen every hour in Kuwait, largely due to recklessness, talking on the phone while driving which has become a common feature among drivers which result in accidents.
The ministry sources told Al-Qabas, about 29,000 traffic accidents were recorded during the past first five months of 2023 which claimed the lives of 135 citizens and residents — an average of 27 victims every month.
The numbers reveal 5,800 traffic accidents occur every month in the country, “that is, an average of 193.3 accidents per day, which requires concerted efforts by state agencies and civil society institutions topped by the Ministry of Interior, to apply the traffic law without compromise.
The sources stressed the need to develop an integrated plan to reduce recklessness and awareness of the seriousness of violations, excessive speed, red-light crossing and other causes of loss of life and serious injuries.
The sources pointed to the importance of amending the traffic law and increasing penalties. One of the main causes of fatal accidents is driving under the influence of drugs as a result of which many reckless motorists cross the red lights and drive at crazy speeds, exposing their lives and the lives of others to danger.
Meantime, the sources revealed more than 2.4 million cars ply on the country’s roads, while the total valid driving licenses reached more than 1.6 million until the end of 2022.
The sources stressed the need to remedy these risks, and work to prevent the heavy losses of traffic accidents, according to awareness plans and impose the prestige of the law, pointing to “tragedies, permanent disabilities, and clinical death for some cases that were transferred to hospitals, as a result of injuries that cripple their victims for life,” causing serious social and economic repercussions.
Six prominent reasons why the accidents occur
— Not paying attention while driving
— Using a mobile phone
— Wrong side overtaking
— Failure to maintain the vehicle
— Recklessness and speeding
— Potholes and damaged roads
The source explained that despite the General Traffic Department carrying out continuous awareness campaigns for vehicle drivers, traffic violations that lead to fatal accidents often claim the lives of young people for failure to abide by the laws.
Health sources told Al-Qabas that the Medical Emergency Department deals with a large number of reports daily, whether related to traffic accidents or other emergency and non-urgent cases, indicating that numbers of them are transferred to emergency departments in public hospitals, while treatment is provided for other cases in different locations.
The sources indicated that the emergency medical operations room deals daily with separate and varying numbers of road accidents from day to day, and there are accidents that cause several injuries to more than one person in the same accident, indicating that 10-15 accidents are dealt with daily, while accident rates rise during official holidays and reach to about 25 accidents, especially on weekends.
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