In order to limit the practice of unfastening the seatbelts in vehicles and using mobile phones while driving, the General Directorate of Traffic at the Ministry of Interior is all set to launch a newly designed project to catch the violators in the country.

 

Colonel Mohamed Radi Al Hajri, Director of the Awareness and Information Department at the General Directorate of Traffic, has said that the project is currently taking place to monitor those who fails to fasten their seatbelts and using mobile phones while driving violations through Tala’a project. Not wearing seatbelts and using mobile phones while driving are most commonly seen traffic violations by the motorists in the region.

 

Tala’a project which will use cameras installed at strategic locations of roads and roundabouts aims at monitoring any traffic violations committed in the places, like not putting on seatbelt, using mobile phones while driving, crossing the roads wrongly, over-speeding, crossing on red signal and other traffic violations that pose a threat to public safety on the road. In its experimental period, the project succeeded to seize 23 different traffic violations.

 

 

Speaking to Qatar TV, Colonel Al Hajri highlighted that the Department aims to register no death accidents as there is no other escape from traffic accidents and stated: “but our aim is to stop deaths in road accidents. “During the last ten years, there has been a gradual decrease in deaths per 100,000 cases. For example, the accident death rate for every 100,000 people in the State of Qatar in 2019 recorded 4.4 deaths, which is less than the global average, and now it is less.” Colonel Mohamed Radi Al Hajri mentioned that, “In order to clarify the extent of this decline, we mention that in 2006 the death rate in traffic accidents was 15 cases per 100,000 people, but the Law No. 19 of 2007 emphasised the implementation of the law in terms of the legislative instrument and this resulted to curb accidents.”

 

Colonel Al Hajri said that, “You have to pay only 50 percent of the value of the violations if the payment is made during the first month of the violation and this emphasises that the Department’s goal is not to collect money.”

 

“The fine starts from QR500 to QR1000 for every 10 kilometers above the speed limit, but if the payment is made within 30 days 50% is reduced, but there are some traffic violations which are not included in this reduction offer and they are directly referred to the Public Prosecution,” he added.