The number of people killed on Qatar’s roads continued to climb in November, which saw one of the highest fatality counts for 2014, according to newly released official figures.
A total of 25 people died in traffic accidents during the month, the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said in its latest monthly statistics report.
This compares to 24 deaths in October. Both months show a marked spike in road fatalities compared to September, when there were 12 deaths as a result of car accidents. November’s count was the highest figure since April, when 29 people perished on Qatar’s roads.
The figures reflect a wider trend of an increase in all kinds of traffic accidents over recent months. There were 73 people injured in major accidents in November, compared to 59 in October and 36 in September. And 696 people were involved in minor accidents – up significantly from October’s figure of 603.
Violations down
Despite these increases, the number of traffic violations for November dropped significantly from the previous month. The total number of recorded speeding offenses that month was 84,454, while there were 2,213 people caught for running traffic lights.
The violations were down 9 percent and 15 percent on the previous month’s figures, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of people booked for not following traffic signs fell by 41 percent between October and November to 6,387.
These figures and trends come as Qatar’s population boom continues, and raise a number of questions about the effectiveness of attempts to improve road safety and reduce the number of deaths from traffic accidents.
Over the weekend, the Ministry of Interior’s Traffic Department said it would be deploying more unmarked cars in a bid to monitor and catch offenders.
The “civilian-looking” cars will apparently be equipped with cameras to record violations such as using mobile phones while driving, not buckling up, throwing trash from cars and seating children under the age of 10 years old in the front seats of the car.
Using Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols, police will also be cracking down on those who overtake from the right, who drive and park on sidewalks, or park illegally in handicapped spots.
Thoughts?
Retraction: On Jan. 8, we learned that the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics had provided incorrect information on the number of traffic violations in November. The figures for November and October contained in the most recent report were, in fact, the same numbers the ministry had released the previous month for October and September. We’ve contacted the ministry to request the correct figures.
Update (Feb. 2): The ministry’s release for December contained new numbers for traffic violations in November. It states there were 80,979 radar charges, 2,182 incidents of drivers not following traffic signals and 8,983 cases of motorists not following traffic signs. That adds up to 135,587 total charges, down slightly from 136,497 in October.
Pull people over and fine on the spot. Offer a cash incentive for the police to fine. They keep 20 percent of the day’s takings. I know that it is open to corruption. All violations must be caught on camera.
they already have an incentive .. if a police man clears his fines book he gets 7 days vaction added to his leave 🙂
Is that 7 days for every booklet or a one time thing? They can easily finish a booklet with illegal parking violations in one day.
Per month
Is this speculation or fact? It would seem incredible that the police could potentially earn an EXTRA 12 weeks/ 3 months off per year…
Fact , i might phrased it wrong , its not annual leave , its speical leave , special leaves cannot be taken more than 5 days in a row per month .
Most of the time they sell these days when it reaches 30 days to get 1 month basic pay ..
And again they need to justify the fines they are doing , now they have the portable handheld system which have a built in camera and sends the fine + the picture to MOI data center via 4G ..
At the center there are operators who verfiy the fines , more than 50% of them being dropped before going into the database 🙂
Oh, that may explain why some vehicles are wrongly reported and later rectified and reconciled by traffic police
Which would ultimately lead to less police on the roads. Where’s the logic in that?
If the traffic situation on the roads is so bad and so much accidents are happening then it must be really scary for even the pedestrians to be walking anywhere on the pavements next to this roads or while crossing the roads
my father in 2012 was walking on the pedestrians path near the old stock market building … a guy in GMC Sierra suddenly decieded to take a shortcut and he did take the shortcut and with it my father foot , my father had several severe fractures in his foot ..
so yup no one is safe , were you a Qatari or an expat , we are all in the same hole ..
I’m good with getting soft with Qatari violators but very tough on expats. Catch all those expat reckless drivers and fine them hard.
lots of countries still use the caste system 🙂
And look what a mess they are.
There should only be two classes in Qatar, Qataris and Non-Qataris.
there is only one class of violators ! they are all ignorant of the rules of the road and arrogant in their lack of responsibilities to other road users FULL STOP
And ideally separate roads for each.
I have read enough lies from your previous comments. This story you just made up is no different.
I looked out of my apartment window on Thursday morning and counted 17 cars parked on pavements and the pedestrian crossing outside Department of Public Prosecution. Not one vehicle had been given a traffic violation.
I got a ticket there…
“Meanwhile, the number of people booked for not following traffic signs fell by 41 percent between October and November to 6,387”. Surely the huge drop in this type of offence (which as opposed to speeding isn’t automatically recorded by camera) can only mean that there have been far less police on the roads to catch offenders.
The stick approach is just one side of the equation, especially when the stick can be dodged by some of the most persistent offenders. What’s needed is behavioural and attitudinal change, which takes time and serious investment in communications and education.
I am struggling with the stats here concerning some commenters claims about Qatari drivers…. Firstly, the Qatari population is only what? 12 or 15 percent? Are we seriously suggesting that 15 percent of the population cause 100 percent of the accidents?????
Secondly…. Who cares if a Qatari can dodge fines and prosecution…. What? This is the only country in the world That happens? No US senator ever pulled a few strings with the sheriff? No UK MP got his wife to take the rap for drink driving? If I Was an Emir, I am pretty sure I’d play the “do you know who I am???” Card… And good on him.
100 percent enforcement is not going to work for this minority of offenders. So, police officers (marked or otherwise) please STOP OFFENDERS!!!! sure, if they play the “do you know who I am???” Card… Walk away, pointless expertise,but if they don’t… Write them up and prosecute EVERY time.
The UK example disproves your point perfectly, it was an MP who got his wife to take the rap for a speeding fine.
They got caught, they both went to prison.
The number of people in a country playing the ‘do you know who I am card’ is generally directly proportionate to the lack of civic responsibility. In most civilised countries, individuals are held responsible for their actions. If people are allowed to play that card, it’s a recipe for the whole system turning into chaos, as where do you draw the line on excusing someone because of their status, job or wasta
These figures are meaningless unless reported as a proportion of the population and/or the number of vehicles on the road. It is impossible to determine whether accidents are increasing or not from these statistics. DN you should know better as professional journalists
Classic journalism not just doha news sadly, but DN should know better because people comment on it all the time! They frequently report statistics without context and describe stories, again with little to no context, then the commenters come along with all kinds of weird science and outrageous, unsupported claims!
Does anybody know where most of this accidents happen, is it in the city or outside of it?
I would love to see more police on the roads actually enforcing the laws. Right now I just try to steer clear of Land Cruisers and follow the rules. What bothers me more than anything are parents who don’t use car seats and are talking on their cell phones non-stop. No excuse for endangering your children or anyone else on the road. Laws are not “suggestions.”
This is one problem everyone would like to see corrected. The efforts to date have not seen the results desired for. Thousands of new drivers every month in addition to to the ones already here complicate things. There are the aggressive,the distracted,the incompetent and the inexperienced vying together in one City and two main road corridors to two smaller urban areas. One would think it easier to sort out. Since public transportation is not a great option,nor is walking or using bicycles,nor controls on limiting the numbers of cars on the roads seem likely or doable at this point in time, then it would appear real life highway/traffics patrol units using spot checks,radar,patrols and being consistent,are a must. Then the enforcement needs to be backed up with a motor vehicle act where licenses are consider a privilege and not a right. Yank those licenses,keep the cars and drivers who should not be on the road,off the road and check back in 12 months on the results.Of course this is nothing that hasn’t been said before.
Maybe those wearing uniforms might lead by example.
How many deaths were from not wearing a seatbelt ?
So I have series of photos while stopped in traffic on D-Ring. In these snapshots are not one or two, but a steady stream of violators passing on the right (13 vehicles in all). Of course this is why I was in stopped traffic, because we were letting the law breakers back in as the emergency lane ended. The photos capture the license plate, date and time. The location is obvious from the full photos (clip without license plate attached). It is my understanding that we cannot post these on a “Pavement Scoundrels of Qatar” website or turn these photos over to authorities in Qatar and expect action. Can anyone verify if civilians capturing this evidence have any means to report the crimes?
NOTE: Not sure any of the 13 cars were driven by a Qatari. However, I am sure most were subcontinent (code word for India) drivers.
You can submit this on the Metrash 2 app…
I once used the app to report 2 violations in a day. when i saw a third one and wanted to report it I could not login in to the app. The app kept saying that I was “Not authorized to use this service” for a week. I then heard that you can’t report more than one violation through the app in a day. anyway after a week I was able to login and was able to use the app as usual.
I then, out of curiosity, tried again and again i was kicked out of the system for a week (this was after 4-5 months). that day, sitting in traffic, i saw more than 15 violations all done by middle eastern guys and one woman.
has anyone else had this problem?
Please do correct me if i heard wrong or maybe its a system glitch. The app itself is slow and sometimes when you want to report it never logs in.
There are plenty of models from all over the world where a combination of public education, fining and license penalties and law enforcement have brought down road fatalities – wear seat belts, don’t text and drive, don’t speed, cut corners etc etc. It’s not rocket science.
So now people are dying in traffic at lower speeds?
The leading cause of early death varies by country. In the Americas, Europe, Australia and India it is heart disease. In China, it is stroke. In Pakistan it is pneumonia. In Africa it varies among HIV, malaria, diarhhea. In Syria, it was war in 2013. In the GCC… no prizes for guessing.. it is road injuries!
http://www.vox.com/2015/1/2/7474995/map-years-lost-life
I’ve been living in Qatar for 6 years, and I don’t own a car. I walk to work, and my wife and kids get ferried by a VERY cautious driver. When I cross the street with my children, I hold their hands tight, and cross only when the road is clear for 50 metres! I don’t expect drivers to stop (or even slow down) at a zebra crossing, unless there is a traffic light.
Having no expectations of courtesy or sensible driving from others on the road, has helped us stay safe. Contrast that with friends we visited in Munich this summer, whose kids walk the streets with confidence knowing that their right-of-way will be respected.