THE Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida published a shocking and terrifying statistic about the number of traffic violations and accidents in the country in 2023. I believe this statistic is worth considering because of its very serious consequences and effects on the entire Kuwaiti society.
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry said that last year there were four million speeding violations, 853,000 cases of running a red light, 296 deaths in road accidents, 370,000 violations for not wearing a seat belt and 185,000 violations of drivers using a mobile phone!!
The question arises is that why this increase in illogical and absolutely unacceptable violations that threaten the lives of citizens and residents of the Gulf state?
Of course, the reasons and causes are clear and obvious and everyone will agree that there is an urgent need to spread culture and awareness of the benefits of safe driving among the young people. Education, public taste, morals, culture, religion and many other things are very important to us in our daily lives.
All of these things start from home, school, university, various media outlets and social media, work, friends, civil society organisations, charitable, professional, educational, social, health, cultural, and other organisations. Everyone is a major partner in building a conscious and advanced society that respects all laws and regulations that have been established and legislated for the public interest, not only in the field of traffic, but in all aspects of life.
On the other hand, I find it very necessary to tighten disciplinary procedures or impose strict penalties on violators, provided that the law is applied to everyone and large financial fines are imposed against violators.
From my personal point of view, these things, which some may see as insufficient, I say exactly the opposite. These measures should not be just words, but must be translated into action, and action requires great, painstaking, tremendous and sincere efforts stemming from everyone’s loyalty and belonging to their homeland. I see that this aspect is missing and no one wants to take on this responsibility!
Look again at the number of speeding violations and cases of running a red light, and imagine how many innocent lives were lost in just a few seconds! Has human value become so cheap? I don’t think so. Imagine the trouble and misery of the family of the deceased and how long this trouble lasts as a result of this accident that claimed his life as a result of the recklessness of the driver who did not abide by the law that was originally put in place to protect him! Imagine that people in the prime of their youth would fall victim to this recklessness.
No, then a thousand times no, this is absolutely unacceptable, and therefore, from this platform, I call on the authorities in Kuwait to launch a broad national campaign in which all governmental, private and civil authorities participate to save what can be saved.
According to official statistics, the population of Kuwait by the end of 2023 reached about 4.859 million, including 1.546m citizens and 3.3m expatriates.
Don’t you agree that the Interior Ministry’s statistics on traffic violations sound an alarm in a country whose population does not exceed 5m people?
Kuwait is just one example of many Gulf and Arab countries that lack a culture of respect for law and order, which is the secret of our delay in achieving sustainable development!
What do you think?
May God protect Kuwait and its people from all evil and harm.
Zuhair A Tawfiqi
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