Is there a penalty for not wearing seatbelts in the backseats? Should you wear face masks all throughout your trip? What are the ages exempted for not wearing masks in public? These are just some of the questions raised during the virtual awareness seminar of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Traffic Law in Qatar today.

The Public Relations Department of the MoI, in association with Traffic Awareness Department, and under the Ministry’s General Directorate of Traffic, organized a "Virtual Awareness Seminar on Traffic Law No.: 19/2007" on Sunday, January 17, 2021, from 10 am – 12.30 pm through Zoom Video Conferencing application.

Among the 377 attendees who joined the virtual seminar are those in charge of transport and traffic safety in companies, establishments, schools, and community members. 

During the seminar, the officers from the Traffic Department,  spearheaded by Capt. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Kuwari, shared valuable information related with Traffic Law No. 19/2007 to raise the awareness on road safety among the road users and general public.

“Spreading awareness will play a major role in decreasing the number of accidents,” says Capt. Al-Kuwari.

The MoI official also gave an overview of the past road and traffic situations in 2018 and 2019 in the country. According to him, the number of vehicles and driving licenses increased; whereas, the number of deaths and road accidents decreased.

The number of vehicles in Qatar reached 1.5 million in the past year. Driving licenses issued are 1.5 million in total. 

Recorded road accidents are 223,817. There were154 deaths from road accidents. The death toll from traffic accidents is 168, and the mortality rate for every 100,000 is 4.9 percent.

The participants were informed about the three essential rules that all drivers must be aware of:

1. The limit of people inside a vehicle, which is specified as 4 including the driver, except for the members of the same family.

2. Public compliance on presenting ‘Green status on the Ehteraz application when leaving their houses

3. Wearing face masks while in public areas to stay safe against the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Ministry continued to share some important details on common traffic mistakes happening in the road, as well as driving violations and their corresponding penalties.

The following are the topics covered during the two and a half hour session:

• Road Accidents Impact on Society

Loss of a family member by injury of death

• Impact on Infrastructure

Effects from road accidents that may cause the motorists a lot of money to recover

• Psychological impact of accident

Feeling frustrated and helpless as a result of his disability or sitting in the hospital or home

• Black Point in Traffic Law No. 19/2007

The traffic law No. 19 of the year 2007 has introduced a Black Point system with the aim of preventing the huge number of road accidents and punishing the errant drivers.

The Drivers convicted of certain driving related offences will have demerit points recorded on their records.

• Driving License Suspension Periods

The driving licenses of those who commit traffic crimes will be suspended depending on the number of black points.

• Traffic Crimes that Reject Reconciliation

• Traffic Crimes that Accept Reconciliation

• Metrash 2 and MoI Website Services

As to the questions raised by some of participants, here are the answers given by the MoI top official:

Is there a penalty for not wearing seatbelts at the backseats? As of now, the penalty imposed for not wearing seatbelts is only for the cars’ front seats. If the driver and the front seat passenger do not wear the seat belts while driving on the road, the penalty is 500 QAR.

Should you wear face masks while inside the vehicle and all thoughout your trip?

The Traffic Department adheres to the precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Public (MoPH), including wearing face masks at all times, when surrounded by other people.

What are the ages exempted for not wearing masks in public?

Capt. Al-Kuwari confirmed that children may not wear facemasks. However, he recommends everyone to wear protective masks to ensure their safety.

The online event was held as part of the series of the awareness seminars conducted by the Ministry that underline the importance of communication between the motorists and traffic enforcers who play an important role in road safety and security.

The admission to the seminar was restricted for 1,000 persons only on the first come, first served basis. The seminar gave the attendees an opportunity to interact with officers from the Traffic Department, and clear doubts related with the Traffic Law No. 19/2007 through a Q&A session.

Faisal Al Huwadi of MoI’s Public Relations Department facilitated the seminar and called on the participants to spread awareness on the traffic law in Qatar for everyone’s safety. 

Note: This is a developing story and article will be updated with further details.