Muscat: The deaths of pedestrians on Omani roads are a major cause of concern in Oman, where the number of fatalities from traffic accidents continues to rise.
In the first nine months of this year, as many as 145 people died and 511 others were injured in 587 accidents involving pedestrians, according to statistics released by the Royal Oman Police's (ROP) traffic department on Sunday.
Lt. Colonel Nasir Bin Salim Al Haddabi, Director of Sohar Traffic in north, said that the number of accidents involving people being hit by vehicles has increased. The figure is high in the Batinah region, where 56 people died after being hit by vehicles.
He said speed on internal roads is limited to 60 kilometres an hour, and 40 kilometres per hour in residential, commercial and industrial areas.
He stressed that it was important that motorists adhere to the speed limits on service roads, especially in populated areas near markets and schools.
Al Haddabi also cautioned pedestrians not to cross the road where there are speeding vehicles. Muscat recorded 46 deaths in 210 accidents, in which vehicles ran over pedestrians in the capital.
Captain Salim Bin Mohammad Al Kaf, Head of Patrolling at the Muscat Traffic Administration, said that most accidents occured near flyovers and underpasses.
"We often book pedestrians for unsafe road crossing," he revealed, adding that such offences are registered in the records maintained by ROP in the national ID cards for citizens and residence ID cards for expatriates.
He said traffic patrols had noticed that pedestrians risk their lives by frequently crossing the road that joins Al Sahwa roundabout to the Sultan Qaboos Road and up to Al Khoud flyover where the speed limit is 120 km/hour.
He also warned that the police will book motorists who fail to slow down near zebra crossings. "Motorists must stop completely at zebra crossings to allow pedestrians cross the road safely," he insisted.
He cautioned taxi and school bus drivers to exercise utmost care about the safety of their passengers.
