A seminar held here at Darb Al Saie discussed the roles of national institutions, corporate groups, and media in promoting traffic awareness and safety issues.

The General Directorate of Traffic held four seminars as part of the 32nd GCC Traffic Week being observed here at Darb Al Saie here under the theme ‘Your Decision Determines Your Fate’.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry officials, senior editors from the media, representatives from the government and from private firms participated in the seminars focused on traffic awareness, education and observing road safety.

The Director General of Traffic Brigadier Saad al-Kharji; Al Sharq newspaper’s Chief Editor Jaber al-Harami, Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) Director General and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Ayed Bin Dabssan al-Qahtani, and Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s SEC Communications Office Director Hassan Abdulla al-Mohammadi and other officials participated in the first of the four seminars.

Panellist discussed the concept of social responsibility and how to promote in among national institutions, companies, spread traffic awareness messages, and especially the roles of print and digital media.

Brigadier Mohamed Saad al-Kharji spoke on the roles of governmental and non-governmental institutions and community organisations to raise traffic awareness. He stressed society’s responsibility to help raise safety, security and raise the level of traffic culture in particular is a shared responsibility borne by the individual, family, educational, media, religious and humanitarian various specialties and institutions.

He also emphasised that every institution is responsible for educating its employees on the importance of obeying traffic rules and observing safe driving practice. The state has to spend a lot of resources, time and money due to the consequences of people not wearing seat belts. Not following this mandatory rule of wearing seat belts psychologically scars besides grave injuries to victims in the event accidents.

The Brigadier lauded the partnerships and co-operation between the Interior Ministry and other ministries and national institutions on spreading messages on traffic rules and awareness.

Al-Harami stressed that each individual has the responsibility to obey traffic rules and regulations and observe safe driving practices on roads to stop avoidable accidents and bloodshed.

He highlighted the media’s role, particular social media, in spreading traffic awareness messages and ushering in this culture of obeying rules in families, educational and religious institutions.