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Kuwait City: The Ministry of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Major General Mahmoud Al-Dousari has affirmed that the Directorate General for Information System, headed by Sheikh Meshal Al-Jaber, has been working diligently to rectify the technical fault that occurred in Traffic Departments Saturday morning for the first time in Kuwait.

Major General Al-Dousari disclosed this to journalists Sunday afternoon to mark inauguration of phase two of the project entitled ‘We are the Problem and Solution’. The Traffic Safety Society organized the event, which several senior officials of the Traffic Engineering Sector, Chairperson of the society and his deputy, as well as
numerous students from the College of Information Technology attended.

Fault

He said that all affected systems in the ministry will work at full capacity, and this shows that the department is focused on discharging responsibilities. He explained that the fault started at about 11:00am and the concerned department has been doing its best to rectify the problem.

He informed that the country has been experiencing sharp decline in the rate of traffic accidents since 2006. He said that the World Health Organization (WHO) now rates Kuwait in the medium level of accident rate, and the ministry is working towards attaining the low-level rate. He reasoned that it is impossible to eliminate traffic accidents, but it can be reduced to the bare minimum level within the GCC and Middle East.

He disagreed with the notion that the country has high rate of accidents, but traffic violations are on the rise due to the irresponsible attitude of some motorists. He advised parents to control activities of their wards, saying curbing excesses should start from homes before institutions. He reported that traffic violations are over 35 million with revenue of over KD 40 million.

Major General Al-Dousari revealed that the department has signed a contract with a public transport company for the removal of confiscated vehicles and keep in the seized car garage. He indicated that the department has seized 4,500 vehicles and motorbikes through intensive campaigns and presence on the highways to monitor excessive driving. He urged media outfits and government institutions to intensify their awareness activities for the public, in order to stem down the rate of accidents.
Support

Al-Dousari commended security operatives for maintaining law and order during the recently concluded GCC Summit, which required closing of some roads for days and needed some officers to work round the clock. He pointed out that this could not have been possible without support of the leadership and cooperation of the public. He noted that the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers have included construction of 700 kilometers roads in the five-year strategic plan.

He revealed that the department has been collaborating with the Communications Ministry and its Public Works counterparts to put final touches to the proposed establishment of the Public Authority for Traffic. He stated that this has worked out well in Qatar and the UAE, so there is hope of a success story at the end.

In his remarks, Chairperson of the Traffic Safety Society Bader Al-Matar said that the awareness campaign is for all persons living in society. He asserted that the society has been contributing its quota to reducing accident rates in the country and lamented the high number of accident victims in the country.

He reiterated that the youth is the major resource of the country, and should be well managed and preserved. He lauded commendable efforts of the traffic department in reducing the accident rate, and urged civil societies and NGOs have to exert more efforts in this regard.

Al-Matar informed that 51 countries held a meeting in Moscow to deliberate on traffic accidents, and saw the need to combat this menace to preserve the lives of people. He promised that the society will soon embark on more drastic campaigns within the next few months.

Arab Times