Muscat: More stringent safety measures should be implemented on Omani roads, Oman Shura Council member Mohammad Al Hajri told Gulf News on Sunday. Al Hajri’s comments come after five Omanis including a pregnant woman were killed in a car accident on Thursday evening.
The deadly crash in the Al Ghabi area of Bidyah province involved a pick-up truck and a water tanker. The main road of Bidyah is a bustling commercial area with shops on both sides of the road.
Al Hajri said there was a need for more roundabouts in the area but until such time that more road infrastructure was provided, an emergency solution should be provided.
“As a temporary solution, we demand the authorities to build at least speed breakers in main intersections like Al Wasil and Ghabi areas for now to stop the occurrence of the fatal road accidents that claimed dozens of lives recently,” he said.
Local authorities in Bidyah have requested government funding to build roundabouts in the Al Ghabi area but no allocation has yet been made for such projects due to the economic slump amid the drop in oil prices.
Oman has a very high number of road accidents, with 6,276 crashes reported in 2015 resulting in the death of 675 people, according to Royal Oman Police figures.
July was the deadliest month, with 71 people killed and 406 injured in 626 road accidents.
