A total of 544,179 road accidents took place in the Kingdom last year. The large number of accidents resulted in the deaths of 7,153 people and injury of 39,160 people. The startling revelation was made during the first Traffic Safety Forum held at Sheraton Dammam Hotel Saturday. The forum was organized by the Traffic Safety Society and inaugurated by the Emir of the Eastern Province Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz. It aims to tackle traffic accidents and fatalities on Saudi roads. The Emir lauded the forum for “doing something to raise safety awareness amongst the public to preserve souls and property”. He said “the statistics of injuries and deaths have become too painful”. One of the key problems addressed by the forum was the major traffic congestion caused by the 9.4 million vehicles on the city's roads. The Director General of Traffic Administration in the Kingdom, Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Ajlan, announced that several initiatives will be undertaken “to apply modern technologies that help organize the flow of traffic”. The plans will see 135 new traffic departments opened around the Kingdom as well as traffic centers at all points of entry around the country. Al-Ajan underscored that driving schools and periodic inspection centers will be allowed to bid publicly for the project. The forum heard that the Traffic Administration will be linked with the Health Ministry to finalize the insurance paperwork.
