ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, March 8th 2014 [ME NewsWire]
Under the patronage of Lt. General H.H Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the 30th GCC Traffic Week 2014 kicks off tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. The event, which runs until March 15th, is held under the slogan of “Our Goal is your Safety”.
During the inauguration ceremony, which will take place at the Rosewood Hotel, Abu Dhabi, Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior will be revealing the 12 new community-based initiatives to be launched by the Abu Dhabi Police’s the Traffic and Patrols Directorate. The initiatives, which are devised under the umbrella of the ADP’s traffic program to reduce traffic accidents, titled “Together”, aim to foster community partnership and increase traffic awareness and education in order to protect lives and property.
The GCC Traffic Week events will include many programs and activities that aim to strengthen interaction with the different segments of society and engage them in the effort to spread traffic awareness and enhancing driver behaviors. Six traffic awareness documentary films will also be part of the GCC Traffic Week events, with a view to involve the public in traffic safety issues.
Brigadier Eng. Hussein Ahmed Al Harithi, Director of Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police stated that the new community-based initiatives aim to engaging all segments of society in the to create and activate innovative traffic campaigns over the course of the year. He also explained that the new initiatives will include 12 traffic safety concepts for each month. These include, “The road belongs to everyone”, “Let us be like them”, “A baby is in your vehicle”, and “You are the backbone of this country”, to name but a few; in addition to other initiatives that will be announced during the GCC Traffic Week.
“The new social initiatives will also include ‘the traffic creativity council’, which will invite committees from different walks of life to discuss traffic issues, leading to more cohesion in society regarding traffic issues,” Brigadier Al Harithi continued. “There will also be a ‘Traffic safety ambassador’ initiative, which will be responsible for choosing public figures from all fields to serve as traffic safety ambassadors, aiming to reinforce the sense of social responsibility to achieve an ideal traffic safety system”.
He also pointed out that the celebration will include the honoring of exemplary male and female drivers, the honoring of exemplary male and female handicapped drivers, and the honoring of exemplary male and female police officers. The four winners from Abu Dhabi Police’s Traffic and Patrols Directorate’s ‘Together’ program to reduce traffic accidents will also be honored. The “Together” initiative was initially launched to reinforce the role of society in traffic safety, and includes the best school, the best labor camp, the best family, and the best young driver traffic-wise. The winners will be given appreciation certificates and cash rewards.
Brigadier Al Harithi revealed that the upcoming 30th edition of the GCC Traffic Week will collocate with International Road Traffic Accidents Conference on the 10th – 11th March. The Conference will discuss the outcomes of national and international researches, studies, and experiences. The event will bring together local and foreign traffic safety experts and professionals, as well as paramedical and emergency personnel. A traffic exhibition will also be organized on the sidelines of the Conference, to showcase the latest developments in smart traffic systems, automated traffic control systems, and accident and emergency medicine.
Brigadier Al Harithi also indicated that the conference will feature 40 work papers submitted by internationally recognized keynote traffic safety experts and specialists from the USA, Greece, Canada, Belgium, KSA, Egypt, China, and the UAE. The conference will include 12 morning and evening sessions, and will tackle the main causes of traffic accidents, and the proposed solutions to improve traffic safety.
Topics on the conference’s agenda will be varied and will showcase the best international practices and innovations with respect to the use of modern means of transport, in addition to reviewing the new techniques and approaches to reducing injuries’ severity and disabilities that may result from road traffic accidents. Attendees will also discuss ways to improve and integrate the five main elements of traffic safety, namely, Engineering, Emergency, Enforcement, Education, and Evaluation.
Furthermore, Brigadier Al Harithi highlighted the 2013 statistics compared to 2012. Statistics have shown a 31% decrease in the number of pedestrian fatalities, and a 3% decrease in the average of traffic accidents per 100,000 inhabitants. Mortality rates resulting of jumping red lights accidents have dropped by 53%, from 13 to 6 fatalities; while the number of fatalities resulting from over speeding has decreased by 44%, from 25 to 14 fatalities.
Adding further, he said: “The number of traffic accidents fatalities across Abu Dhabi has decreased by 53%, from 34 to 16 fatalities. Serious injuries have also decreased by 15%, from 65 to 55 injuries. Additionally, the number of fatalities in Al Ain has also dropped from 89 to 82 fatalities.”
He also pointed out that Abu Dhabi Police’s Traffic and Patrols Directorate is changing its traffic safety plan, which has five pillars, and is referred to as (5Es+I): “Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency, and Evaluation”. The directorate is changing it to (6Es+I) by adding a sixth pillar, which is ‘Engagement’, to emphasize the importance of social responsibility in traffic safety and saving lives and property from the resulting dangers of traffic accidents.
In conclusion, Brigadier Al Harithi highlighted the numerous existing projects implemented by Abu Dhabi Police’s Traffic and Patrols Directorate, with a view to enhance traffic safety levels and improve traffic-related work fields in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. These projects include the Smart Traffic Systems Center project (B), which features the patrols tracking and deployment systems; the traffic management systems and traffic safety diversion program; the traffic accident analysis system; and the smart traffic awareness system. “A new comprehensive automated traffic control system is also being developed to capture traffic law violators,” continued Brigadier Al Harithi. He stressed that the directorate continues installing infrared speed cameras at intersections to catch drivers who speed up to jump a red light. As part of the program, 150 light-controlled junctions will be fitted with surveillance cameras in Abu Dhabi, out of which, 50 are already installed.
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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com
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