798 road accidents in May

MUSCAT — As many as 88 people died and 1,089 others were injured in 798 road accidents last month.

The Governorate of North Sharqiyah took the brunt of the road accident toll suffering 15 deaths, followed by Muscat and Al Dakhiliyah governorates, each of which lost 13 lives, while 11 people died in the Governorate of North Al Batinah, 10 people died in each of the Governorates of South Sharqiyah and the Governorate of South Al Batinah.

Six people died in the Gov- ernorate of Al Wusta, 5 in the Governorate of Dhahirah, 3 people died in the Governorate of Dhofar and 2 people died in the Governorate of Mussandam.

Collision among vehicles were the most common road accidents during May this year (362 collisions), while instances of crashing into stationary objects accounted for 210 of the accidents.

In terms of number, 115 accidents involved vehicles overturning. As many as 111 pedestrians were over-run by vehicles last month.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Traf c renewed the registration of 55,686 vehicles against 14,418 new vehicles. As many as 4,699 driving licences were renewed and 6,319 new driving licences were issued.

While the ROP’s efforts focused on public awareness about road safety, 232,663 tickets were handed down to offenders of traf c regulations.

The number of accidents on Sultanate roads during summer is not much of a deep variation compared with the same in winter but what makes the summer dreadful for motorists are the speci c types of accidents which occur during these hot months.

To name a few, hazards like tyre blast, catching re and other technical snags are on the rise if adequate pre-emptive measures are not taken.

Adding to the ongoing awareness campaigns, the ROP makes it a point to educate people to pay more attention to a range of precautions to be taken while driving.

ROP asks motorists to pay increased attention to their vehicles during summer than that in winter.

“Extreme temperatures can augment the threat of re while on the move, can also cause the engine wiring to get melted and radiators malfunctioning. Taking extra precaution and care can reduce the number of accidents and fatalities to a great extent,” the ROP said.

If one is on a long trip, make sure that the engine oil is changed recently and the car has suf cient endurance capacity for the trip. —