The driving simulator used in the Students for Road Safety programme

Some 1,400 students in Qatar have benefited from one-to-one coaching about road safety at their school this year as part of the Students for Road Safety programme.
The figures represent the programme’s “most successful year to date”, working largely with independent Qatari schools, according to a statement.
The Students for Road Safety programme has been initiated by Maersk Oil Qatar and the Traffic Department to raise awareness and change hazardous behaviour on Qatar’s roads.
The programme targets students aged 12 to 18 years with a mix of interactive presentations and coaching by advanced trainers in an immersive driving simulator, designed to imitate Qatar’s roads and local driving behaviour. It was launched in 2013 as part of the national One Second road safety initiative.
In the past year, more than 1,400 students at schools across Qatar have benefited from the Students for Road Safety programme, which has visited 14 schools in 2015, including Al Yarmouk Independent School, Qatar Independent Technical School, Ahmed Bin Mohammad Military College and Newton International School.
Brigadier Mohamed Saad al-Kharji, director-general of the Traffic Department, said: “We congratulate everyone involved in the programme to date, particularly Maersk Oil Qatar for its long-term commitment to meaningful schemes like Students for Road Safety.”
The school visits by Students for Road Safety are in addition to its support of community and traffic events to increase its impact on bringing about behaviour change. For example, the Students for Road Safety programme will be an integral part of the Darb Al Saai National Day celebrations in the coming weeks.
Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad al-Thani, deputy managing director of Maersk Oil Qatar, said: “The road safety simulator used in schools by the programme to encourage positive behaviour is locally made for local conditions and has benefited many students at schools across Qatar in 2015.”
Mohamed Taymour, academic vice-president at Al Yarmouk Preparatory School, added: “The visit to our school by Students for Road Safety has changed the way our students and teachers view the issue of road safety.”
The driving simulator used in the Students for Road Safety programme features technology such as a full real car cockpit, a display system with a wraparound screen and an artificial intelligence engine that reflects common behaviours on Qatar’s roads like tailgating, failure to indicate, flashing lights and cutting across cars at roundabouts.