Muscat: Road accidents in Oman continue to witness a marked decline because of intensive awareness campaigns, police say.
Such efforts have resulted in a 22.4 per cent drop in fatalities from January to May this year, police say. The numbers of road accidents have dropped by 6.8 per cent in the same period.
According to figures provided by Royal Oman Police (ROP), 2,327 road accidents were reported in the country until May 2015, compared to 2,500 in the same period in 2014. Moreover, the injury rate is down by 55.1 per cent. The number of nationals killed in road accidents in the same period stood at 264 people, a decrease of 22.4 per cent, compared to 335 in 2014.
Moreover, the number of registered vehicles in Oman, including new and imported vehicles, dropped in the same period, by 25.6 per cent. The number of registered vehicles until last May stood at 41,985, compared to 56,000 in the same period of 2014.
The ROP has put up banners on roads, stating that the number of road accidents dropped by 30 per cent between 2013 and 2014. An official at the ROP told Gulf News that such banners give a good indication about the increasing traffic awareness of nationals. The official added that speed radars and traffic campaigns have contributed to a significant drop in the number of road accidents.
Omani authorities have also put in place steps to improve the state of emergency rooms, ensuring more staff and better technology, to treat road accident victims.
