Under the patronage of H.E. the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and the chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, the National Traffic Safety Committee and Qatar University launched “The Road Safety Award for the State of Qatar” during a ceremony held at Qatar University on Sunday. The website of the award was also launched at the event.

The ceremony was attended by Qatar University President Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham, Director General of the General Directorate of Traffic Brigadier Mohammed Abdullah Al Shahwani, National Traffic Safety Committee Secretary Brigadier Mohammed Abdullah Al-Maliki, Dr. Nasser Abdulghani Al-Abdulghani the Managing Director of Abdullah Abdulghani and Brothers Company (Toyota) and QTTSC Director Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Qaradawi.

Speaking at the event Dr. Hassan Rashid Al-Dirham, president of Qatar University and member of the National Traffic Safety Committee said: "We are meeting today to value the efforts to make the traffic safety initiatives successful and to continue to meet the objectives of the National Traffic Safety Strategy 2018-2022. The traffic safety has been built on the National Vision 2030 and is one of the priorities that the State of Qatar seeks to develop. Every year, some 1.35 million people worldwide die on the road and between 20 and 50 million others suffer different injuries that lead to disabilities and material losses,” he added.

"In recent years, the State of Qatar has been able to improve and work to reduce traffic accidents to the point of competition from developed countries, thanks to the efforts of all sides, notably the General Directorate of Traffic and the National  Traffic Safety Committee at the Ministry of Interior. All relevant structures have worked together and without exception, organizing awareness activities, events and campaigns within public and private institutions and educational institutions in order to demonstrate the seriousness of the lack of compliance with road safety and security procedures. Qatar University, represented by Qatar Transport and Traffic Safety Center, was assigned by the National Traffic Safety Committee to carry out several measures, including the annual program of the Traffic Safety Award and creation of the Traffic Safety website of Qatar. Today we have accomplished it. The QTTSC and the National Traffic Safety Committee have also sought to develop these national programs that will contribute to increasing awareness of traffic safety and to achieving a secure land transport system for all road users. On the other hand, all individuals are encouraged to engage in the traffic safety system and are motivated to create new ideas that will enrich the road safety system.

"We are determined to make all the traffic safety initiatives in the State of Qatar successful, and we inform you that the Directorate General of Traffic at the Ministry of the Interior has insisted on continuing to work to improve the traffic safety system in the State of Qatar," said Brigadier Mohamed Abdullah Al-Shahwani, director general and second deputy chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee. We are working together to achieve the United Nations goals for sustainable development endorsed by the State of Qatar, related to the development of road networks, transport services, congestion reduction, transport planning and land use. The country has also set a new world record in the reduction of traffic accidents," he said.

"Despite the increase in the population, the increase in the number of vehicles and the increase in the number of driving licenses, the State of Qatar has exceeded all these challenges and has continued to reduce the death rate due to road accidents to a new record of the lowest (4.4 deaths per 100,000 persons), when compared to many Arab countries, as well as Western European countries, Southeast Asian countries, and North and South American countries. Today, we have launched the annual prize initiative for traffic safety to recognize the efforts of individuals and educational institutions by carrying out projects and ideas in the creative and spirit of youth that have always worked to find solutions to the problems that the traffic safety system still faces." He added.

In his speech, Brigadier Engineer Mohamed Abdullah Al-Malki, Secretary of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said: "The National Traffic Safety Committee at the Ministry of Interior is responsible for drawing the general traffic policy and developing the plans, means and methods that develop the traffic work in the country in all its technical, educational, organizational, legislative and medical aspects in cooperation with the national public and private institutions. Since the formation of the National Traffic Safety Committee, all state institutions have been working together to find effective and serious solutions to reduce traffic problems, by implementing the action plans contained in the National Road Safety Strategy 2013-2022, and have adopted a long-term road safety action plan. "Thanks to the concerted efforts, the State of Qatar is today in a leading position in the field of local and international traffic safety.

He added: this annual prize for traffic safety in Qatar, measures traffic awareness in all categories of the society, represented in scientific and engineering innovations, artistic and intellectual innovations, and adopt and execute projects with a tangible and sustainable impact in the field of traffic safety. It also encourages the social responsibility of the private sector institutions of the State through the program of active partnership between the private and governmental sector to do more serious work to instill a traffic culture in society."

We extend our sincere thanks for the generous invitation extended to us as the sponsor of the Traffic Safety Award for individuals and institutions. We are proud to be part of this event that concerns everyone as we are one of the leading companies in the auto industry in the State of Qatar. The company has many contributions and joined with the General Traffic Department during the Traffic Safety Week over the years.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Yusef al-Qaradawi, Director of the Qatar  Transportation and Traffic Safety Center, said, “In order to make this program a success and strive to upgrade the traffic safety system and encourage all individuals and government agencies with the aim of preserving human lives and property, valuable prizes have been allocated to everyone who contributes an innovative idea, project or an unprecedented new invention that serves the traffic safety system, contributes to spreading traffic awareness, and tries gradually to solve the problems facing the system.

To complement the launch of the award and in cooperation with the National Traffic Safety Committee, Dr. Muhammad Yusuf Al-Qaradawi also announced the launch of the Qatar Traffic Safety website www.roadsafety.qa, which aims to collect and publish research studies and initiatives in the country as a national and global reference. This site contains academic publications, reports, events and training workshops, in addition to traffic safety news.

The target groups in the Traffic Safety award:

Individual category:  This award will be presented to an individual who has developed an initiative concerned with traffic safety and has actively contributed to improving traffic safety in the State of Qatar. The initiative's effectiveness will be measured based on conditions that will be mentioned successively.

Category of public and private institutions: This category is considered to be special for prominent participants in the field of traffic safety for organizations that have undertaken initiatives to reduce traffic accidents and have contributed to raising the level of traffic safety in the State of Qatar.

As for the educational institutions category, it includes kindergartens, schools, institutes, colleges and universities, where the best projects, initiatives, research and scientific, intellectual and technical innovations in the field of traffic safety will be selected.

Regarding the category of individuals, the person must be a citizen or resident of the State of Qatar and the submitted works must be innovative and clearly explained, and the idea should not have been previously proposed. One or more ideas can be participated and if one of them wins, the rest of the posts are excluded. The idea must be original to its owner and unprecedented and has not been tried anywhere in the world, the presented idea must have contributed to a remarkable development or addressed a problem in the field of traffic safety, and the idea should not be presented in any other competition inside and outside Qatar. The participants have to provide a video presentation on the initiative, provided that it must be within a maximum of 5 minutes and a minimum of three minutes.

Regarding the category of institutions, the institution must be in Qatar, and government agencies and institutions concerned with traffic safety in the public and private sector are entitled to participate in the award. The works must be submitted by the participants themselves, and it is possible to participate with one or more ideas, and if one of them wins, the rest of the entries are excluded. The project owners must state the size of the allocated budget and their sources of funding, and the participants must submit a video presentation about the initiative, provided that it does not exceed a maximum of 5 minutes and a minimum of three minutes.

Regarding the educational institutions category, the National Traffic Safety Committee prepared a detailed guidebook that includes the conditions and criteria for participation for each category of the competition for traffic safety education in the State of Qatar, in addition to the participation forms for each category. The brochure is available via the link roadsafety.qa. An award ceremony will be organized for the winners during the World Traffic Safety Conference 2021 in Qatar.