Under the patronage of Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdul-Aziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, the fifth edition of International Traffic Safety Forum and Exhibition will kick off on February 10 in Sheraton Dammam Hotel & Convention Centre, Saudi Arabia. The event comes as part of a vigorous effort of the Saudi Society for Traffic Safety (SALAMAH) to participate in activating initiatives to improve all aspects of traffic safety and transportation ecosystem and to join hands with all relevant parties towards enhancing road safety and reducing numbers of deaths and casualties caused by traffic accidents. This initiative emanates in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University, Saudi Aramco, Traffic Safety Council in the Eastern Province, National Road Safety Centre and Ministry of Education. Over three days, government authorities and relevant industry stakeholders will engage in high-level discussions and networking opportunities to tackle some of the most pressing road safety challenges in the Kingdom and integrate latest innovations and advanced technologies into their concepts and projects. Featuring an international exhibition which creates platform for local and global companies to showcase their latest innovative products and solutions to the transport sector ecosystem. While the focus of the forum is to offer participants the opportunity to gain exclusive insights into transportation initiatives and projects of Saudi Arabia's National Transformation plan 2020, as well as learn about smart transportation techniques and systems and their applications in improving traffic safety. In addition to sharing international experiences in the use of transportation technologies and systems, road infrastructure, innovative solutions and traffic safety initiatives, along with identifying modelling programs for traffic management and emergency response. The forum will also identify opportunities in transferring and localizing best innovative smart transport systems and technologies that will improve transportation and traffic safety in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Approximately 1.25 million people die each year globally as a result of road accidents. Based on the United Nations report, the number of road traffic deaths have reached to more than 3,500 per day worldwide, and it is likely that if no more practical and comprehensive measures are taken, the number of deaths and causalities will continue to increase. Given that Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of road deaths in the world, the government of Saudi Arabia is actively working towards reducing the number of road traffic deaths and casualties by 50% under the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020. Moreover, the Kingdom is adopting additional measures to ensure traffic safety under Vision 2030 in which relevant entities such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transport. The Ministry of Education and the municipalities have set strategic objectives to reduce overall transportation accidents and ensure the safety of citizens. — SG
