Manama: A Bahraini traffic official has attributed most of the traffic accidents in the first two weeks of Ramadan to motorists speeding and jumping red lights.

“The number of accidents that we had between July 20 and August 3 was 34,” Shaikh Abdul Rahman Bin Sabah Al Khalifa, the general director of traffic, said. “We thank God there are no fatalities, but 16 accidents resulted in serious injuries. The major causes were speeding, jumping red light and failing to leave an appropriate distance with the vehicles ahead,” he said.

Other causes for road crashes included people not exercising enough caution and lack of concentration due to fatigue. People in Bahrain, like in most Arab countries, have made it a Ramadan tradition to stay up late to visit families, be with friends, engage in spiritual activities or watch television dramas.

“We do regret the accidents even though we are grateful to God that there are no fatalities, but we do look forward to their reduction in the coming days,” Al Khalifa said. “We have repeatedly run campaigns to promote awareness about the need to comply with traffic rules and regulations so that everybody is safe.”

Traffic officials are preparing to handle the Eid rush as they anticipate more than 400,000 vehicles on the country’s highways and roads practically at the same time and apprehend a higher number of accidents.

“We have put out several patrols to ensure full compliance with traffic regulations by taking the appropriate action against violators,” he said.

Al Khalifa said that the period of highest traffic volume was between 8 pm and midnight. “We witness heavy traffic to and from malls and large mosques. Several patrols — on foot and in cars — try to coordinate efforts to ensure smooth traffic,” he said.

The official said that traffic on the King Fahd Causeway, the 25-kilometre terrestrial link between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, was regular and smooth.

The causeway, opened in November 1986, is used daily by thousands of private vehicles, buses and trucks, making it one of the busiest traffic corridors in the Arab world.