Muscat: Oman’s efforts to combat fatalities due to road accidents have resulted in a 15.1 per cent drop in the death toll from January to March of this year, police say. The number of road accidents have dropped by 20.8 per cent in the same period.
According to the Royal Oman Police (ROP) figures, 1,275 road accidents occurred until March 2014, compared to 1,609 accidents in the same period in 2013.
Moreover, the injury rate is down by 68.8 per cent. The number of nationals killed in road accidents in the same period stood at 107 people, a decrease of 15.1 per cent, compared to 126 in 2013.
Meanwhile, ROP has launched banners on Omani roads, stating that the number of road accidents dropped by 30 per cent between 2013 and 2014. An official at the ROP told Gulf News that such banners give a good indication about the increasing traffic awareness of nationals. The official added that speed radars and traffic campaigns have contributed to a significant drop in the number of road accidents.
Speeding is still the main cause for all the road accidents that occurred in the past three years, according to statistics.
It was blamed for the death of 428 people and injuries of 1,743 in 2014, compared to 471 deaths and 6,923 injuries in 2013.
Driver neglect was second, resulting in the death of 87 and 358 being injured, followed by safe distance violations, which caused 507 accidents that resulted in 15 dead and 392 injured.
In total, 816 persons were killed in road accidents in 2014, compared to 913 persons in 2013, according to ROP.
Oman also has improved the state of emergency rooms, with more staff and better technology, to treat road accident victims.
