Traffic accidents claimed four lives in last five days

Deaths caused by traffic accidents have been on the rise lately, with four fatalities among motorists and cyclists reported in five days last week. Last Tuesday, a 23-year-old Bahraini woman was killed in a traffic accident that occurred on Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Highway at dawn.

The woman was reportedly a passenger and the accident took place when the driver lost control of the vehicle because of over-speeding, according to traffic police investigations. The second death was reported on Thursday, when a 14-year-old Bahraini boy was hit by a speeding vehicle on Amwaj Highway near Galali. The boy was on his bicycle crossing the road and going to the coast on the other side when the driver, a 19-year-old Bahraini man, rammed into him and killed him on the spot.

On Friday, a 21-year-old Bahraini motorcyclist lost control of his bike on Awal Avenue in Juffair, where he suffered serious injuries and was announced dead by paramedics on the spot. The fourth fatality caused by a traffic accident was also reported in the Capital Governorate on Saturday. Sources said a Gulf national had caused a minor traffic accident in Juffair before fleeing the scene. However, an over-speeding driver rammed into the metal barrier in Al Fateh Highway a few minutes later. He sustained serious head injuries that led to his death on the accident site.

These accidents occur amidst the General Directorate of Traffic intensifying its efforts to raise awareness among commuters on the dangers of wrong traffic behaviours, such as over-speeding, using mobile phones while driving, not paying attention to the traffic movement and more. A press release circulated by Interior Ministry on Thursday mentioned: “Director of Traffic Culture of the General Directorate of Traffic, Salah Mohammed Shahab highlighted on Thursday that the road users are targeted with direct campaigns to enhance their traffic awareness.

“Violators of rules are informed of their risky practices. He said that the campaigns had been documented through videos posted on the Instagram account of the department.” According to the ministry’s annual statistics, a total of 43 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in 2018. The figures also showed that 426 sustained serious injuries in traffic accidents last year, while 545 people escaped traffic accidents with minor injuries during the same period.