Road accidents drop by 7.3 pc in August

The number of road accidents in the Sultanate dropped by 7.3 per cent in August 2018 compared to the same month in 2017.

According to the latest statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), as many as 215 road accidents were recorded in August 2018.

“The decline in accidents is an achievement for all our efforts through awareness programmes and punitive measures against traffic law offenders”, said a highly placed source at the Royal Oman Police (ROP).

“Added to it, advancement in technology, such as more sensors and cameras on the roads and alert system have worked well towards this”, he added. Among governorates, the Governorate of Muscat recorded 26 per cent of road accidents in August this year, followed the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah at 16.7 per cent, the Governorate of South Al Batinah at 12.6 per cent and the Governorate of North Al Batinah at 11.2 per cent, while the rate of accidents in the rest of the governorates reached 33.5 per cent. Of the total number of accidents, 56 per cent occurred in the night and 44 per cent was recorded during the day.

There was an overall increase in the number of deaths, including Omanis and expatriates by 38.9 per cent in August 2018 compared to the same month in 2017. As many as 75 people died of which 30 where Omanis and 45 expatriates in road accidents during August 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of those injured stood at 238 people, comprising 174 Omanis and 64 expatriates, in August this year, which is 2.1 per cent less compared to the same period in 2017.