Jean Todt, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety; Brig engineer Mohamed Abdullah al-Maliki, secretary of the National Traffic Safety Committee; Brig Muhammad Abdullah al-Shahwani, acting director general of Traffic and representatives of various stakeholders attended.
“We mark this day as an opportunity to identify and put in place measures to reduce fatalities and injuries in the Second Decade of Action of Road Safety," Todt said, praising Qatar for its ambitious goal to reduce fatalities by an additional 25% by next year. “As the host for the 2022 World Cup, you have a big platform to show your commitment to safe, clean and sustainable mobility”, he added.
Brig al-Maliki explained Qatar has taken advanced steps in road safety by establishing a traffic safety committee, drawing up traffic policies, and developing them in various fields and achieved great results due to the efforts made and the traffic plans that are being implemented.
"On this day, we remember the tragedies caused by road accidents, and we recall the importance of traffic awareness of road safety. This day is also an occasion to appreciate the efforts made by police, ambulance and civil defence personnel in the field of road safety and dealing with traffic accidents,” Brig al-Shahwani noted.
Dr Hassan Ali Saoud al-Thani, head of Trauma and Vascular Surgery at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) spoke about the global rate of injuries due to traffic accidents and ways to reduce this rate. He highlighted the safe traffic system model, which is based on many pillars, the most important of which is the road user, safe vehicle, safe roads and safe speed, in addition to the safe road management system.
Dr Muhammad Yusef al-Qaradawi, director of Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Centre at Qatar University's College of Engineering, spoke about the support provided to professors and students to conduct advanced scientific research aimed at finding innovative solutions that can be translated into effective practical strategies that help in improving traffic safety by reducing the number of deaths and injuries.
Sheikha Ibrahim al-Mansoori from the School Affairs Department of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education said the ministry’s role comes in educating students on the principles of traffic safety and preparing them to be fully aware of traffic safety standards and play their national role in saving lives and property.
“The ministry is keen to integrate traffic safety standards with the curricula, encourage students in schools and universities to research evidence-based scientific research in the field of traffic safety, and to promote innovation in this field,” al-Mansoori said.
The Global Plan for the Second United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030) was launched during the event.