Traffic Awareness Campaigns expanded

The list includes around 30 programs and more than 30 awareness campaigns under the umbrella of Campaigns & Events Program.

Engineer Maitha bin Adai, CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency, said: "Traffic Dep't has developed a plan to be carried out this year, taking into consideration the expanded business of Traffic Awareness Section to incorporate various awareness and guidance tasks across the Agency. Traffic Dep't will take every possible action to ensure safety and security of road users in this sphere".

She pointed out that traffic awareness activity stems from the overall vision of the RTA aiming at providing safe & smooth transport for all.

Maitha stated that work at the Traffic Awareness Section is based on five principles; which include sustained awareness programs to substitute ad hoc campaigns, while keeping on board launching of time & space-limited awareness campaigns marking certain occasions, rendering traffic campaigns phased out at intervals. The second principle focuses on wide-scale media coverage; which also contributes to getting the awareness message across the largest possible public category, be it through written, audio or visual media.

The third principle stresses on promoting community partnerships with the public & private sector entities as well as the general public, so as to make traffic awareness an issue that concerns all members of the community of various age groups and affiliations. She pointed out that such partnership started at the level of Traffic Dep't sections, and will continue to expand to cover departments of the Agency, various RTA agencies and community events in general.

"Traffic Dep't introduced the principle of compliance with the rules of traffic, safety and traffic awareness and portrayed it as a moral duty. Everyone who ignores this will be committing an act slanderous to himself, family and nation" said Maitha. She highlighted the importance of implanting such values in the eyes of our clientele. Departmental awareness teams focused much on the young generation, as an investment in future so as to have a well prepared and educated generation, with mature traffic awareness. Nevertheless they did not overlook the programs oriented to youth categories; that are holding driving licenses for quite a long time.

Engineer Maitha revealed that one of the 30 Traffic Awareness Programs, undertaken by Traffic Dep't, incorporates several awareness campaigns to mark certain occasions. This includes running an outstanding traffic awareness stand at the Global Village that lasts up to the end of February. Scholastic programs are back to schools following the Spring holiday. This month will witness awareness campaigns under various themes such as fog & rain, and the importance of using Salik tag for motorbikes. Another campaign will focus on key traffic studies & statistics and it will be repeated at the end of every calendar month during this year.

"In February this year, we will re-launch parking on pavements campaign in collaboration with Traffic Dep't & Licensing Dep't and it will be revived in June and November. February will also witness bicycles, pedestrians, safety belt, and children safety inside the vehicle campaign; which will be revived in June. In March there will be GCC Unified Traffic Week, and excessive speed campaign, which will be re-lunched in August & October, red-light signal campaign; which will be revived in August & October, and moving of vehicles involved in light accidents campaign" said Maitha.

She added that in April, and in addition to the revived campaigns, there will also be special need persons campaign, which will re-launched in September, and road hard shoulder parking campaign, which will also be revived in September. In May Salama campaign will be launched while students will be taking exams, and it will be revived in December. May will also witness minimum speed (60km per hour) campaign at external roads, as well as land travel & tyre safety campaign which will run through the end of July.

In June there will be a number of traffic awareness campaigns, and in July summer activities will be re-launched, in addition to trucks campaign. In August there will be several campaigns and in September will witness a campaign tailored for Ramadan followed by another one in October where a campaign will be made to mark the Eid. In November there will be Hajj, Eid, National Day campaigns as well as other campaigns to close the year

Maitha further stated that Traffic Dep't will be publishing two awareness magazines this year; where a new magazine targeting seniors is being published to build on the successes made by Salama magazine launched by Traffic Awareness Section last year targeting children.