Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Among the various dignitaries who attended the Oman International Motor Show was His Highness Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib Al Said, who had some interesting takes on the driving ethics in Oman and proposed a number of solutions suitable for the Sultanate.
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Safety, according to him, is a priority and in today’s day and age, a number of cars being brought to the market have certain safety features that allow them to manage some aspects. For instance, certain cars warn you before collision or apply the brakes automatically while some others shift lanes on their own. “We are on the route towards self-driving cars,” he said.
Of all the accidents that occur every day on Oman’s roads, those that involve fatalities can usually be easily avoided, he said. Using a mobile phone, according to HH, was one of the main causes of most crashes.
He also felt that people shouldn’t be driving in certain conditions or they need to adjust their driving according to conditions. He said, “You should always follow the prescribed limits but you should also follow the limits that are relevant to your particular situation. Even if the speed limit is higher, that doesn’t mean that you should be driving at that speed.”
He was very positive about the proposed average speed cameras. “I think perhaps if we have more cameras that are not necessarily just catching speeding drivers but are also monitoring the behaviour of drivers and linking those cameras to signage that can warn people of dangers ahead, it will help in early warnings.” He added, “Average Speed Cameras will basically prevent people from indulging in erratic driving behaviour.”
However, he felt, the ultimate solution would be education and awareness. “I think education is really important, so the process of learning how to drive, and instilling a culture of safety in drivers, should be the priority.”
