Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: “I can openly say that we have more respect for fellow contestants on a racetrack when we are competing for a podium position than what I just experienced while driving to this exhibition today.”
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This was Oman’s top racing driver, Ahmad Al Harthy, speaking at the grand opening of the Oman International Motor Show, which became a platform for social good.
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Al Harthy said people should stop using their cars as “weapons” on Oman’s roads and treat other drivers with respect.
His views were echoed by HH Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib Al Said, a member of the royal family who was there to officially open the prestigious motor show.
Sayyid Tarik told TimesTV that there was a need to consider introducing average speed cameras besides educating drivers.
Sayyid Tarik added: “A lot of people don’t realise that they are acting irresponsibly. For example, travelling with children who are unrestrained in the car. Whenever I see that, I feel if people knew the consequences, they wouldn’t be doing that.”
Read also: Awareness ultimate solution to traffic safety question, says Sayyid Tarik
The 18th Oman International Motor Show at the new Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre was officially inaugurated yesterday by Sayyid Tarik with Al Harthy as the guest of honour.
Some of the world’s biggest brands unveiled new cars. There were some classic cars on display as well as road safety products and tips. The show will run until Saturday.
Al Harthy also announced that he intends to raise road safety awareness among the public and schoolchildren as part of his 2017 racing programme.
His comments will resonate with everyone who uses Oman’s roads.
Al Harthy said: “My true honest opinion would be that I am not happy at all about it.
“Sometimes, unfortunately, you see it as people using their cars as weapons. Jumping into someone’s space, or to move away from someone, is like using your vehicle as a weapon.
“When I was a kid, the level of respect on the road was much greater, much higher. I used to see my parents and how they would drive - the courtesy on the road between one car and another.
“There has to be more respect and I can openly say that we have more respect on a racetrack
when we are competing for a podium position than what I had experienced while driving to this exhibition today.
“So, more than respect, I would like to see more safety involved in the drive itself. Just pay attention to how many people are actually wearing seatbelts, and you will understand.
“Let’s not complicate the matter. Just buckle up - it’s as simple as that.
“The number of accidents is high but the number of fatalities are even higher -- that tells you something very important.
“In 2017, my racing programme plan will involve educating the public in a friendly manner and, hopefully, we will do more road shows and more talks at schools because the younger generation in the schools is our next generation. Awareness is very important.
“The same person who cut you off when you were trying to indicate to go into a lane and sped up and didn’t give you space to get in, won’t enter his house without letting you enter first or won’t drink tea or coffee before you take a sip from your cup. So I think it’s a very difficult scenario to explain. Putting someone behind the wheel of a car somehow changes the person’s personality.
“I would always say education is the most important thing.
“What I can talk about is the educational level, knowing what to do while you are in the car because, let’s be honest, speeding on the highway in Muscat will only gain you a few minutes to reach before your rival. A lot of people leave their house and speed to work, but while that speeding is happening, if you look back and compare with someone who left their house at the same time, the difference will be two to three minutes, and one driver gets to work calm and relaxed and the other begins his work extremely frustrated.”
He also advocated use of child restraint in cars, adding: “Something that I always talk about is the use of child seats in the car. We really need to see improvement in this regard because you sit and watch other cars, and I am sure parents love their children. They are just not educated in this aspect and are not informed about the dangers of what happens when you’re in an accident and your child is actually sitting in the middle console of the car, what happens to that child when there is an accident.
“It could be such a small accident that everybody will come away unharmed, but in a situation when the child is in the wrong place or obstructing an airbag space, it’s not what you want.”
Expatriate deaths registered an 8.5 percent increase since the beginning of 2016 and until the end of October. There were 204 fatalities compared to 188 over the same period last year, according to government statistics.
