Visitors’ unfamiliarity turns roads bloody

Manama

The accident, which claimed the lives of two Bahrainis at Arad on Sunday, has raised serious concerns about the reckless driving of motorists of neighbouring countries. The incident occurred when a Gulf national skipped a red light and collided with another car. A teenager and a six-year-old child were killed in the accident.

According to Bahrain Taxi Online founder, Waleed A Fakhro, even green light is not ‘green’ in the Kingdom. Fakhro, who witnessed the accident at Arad, said:  “When the light turns green, we slam the accelerator to cross the signal. After seeing the Arad accident, the immediate feeling came to my mind was that even green light was not safe. For the mistake of someone else, others may lose life.”

Citing over speed and drink driving as major reasons for accidents, Fakhro said that traffic violators should be caught immediately. “It’s not important how much fine you impose. But it is the number of times you catch the offender definitely matters,” he opined.

He said that every traffic signal in the Kingdom should have cameras monitored by officials at a control room. In his opinion, 90 per cent of accidents occur due to skipping of red light.

“It is true that people from neighbouring countries come here to enjoy. But their driving is scary to others,” he said. Faisal Al Abbasi, committee member of Public Transport Drivers’ Society, said that the drivers of neighbouring countries cause accidents here due to their inexperience in driving on modern roads. “Our system is highly modern. Bahrainis in general are accustomed to the traffic rules here. But it is not the case of motorists of neighbouring countries,” he remarked. 

“The motorists of neighbouring countries are known for driving their vehicles at high speed on long roads. But this is not the case in Bahrain, where every stretch of the road has a speed limit. Outsiders fail to recognise the speed limits and drive at a great speed. That’s why they jump red signals and cause accidents,” he explained.

Abbasi cited fatigue due to long driving as one of the factors that lead to accidents. “They come from long distances driving their vehicle. They are in a hurry when they arrive here, as they want to reach homes as early as possible. This haste also ends in tragedy,” he added.