During one of our trip to Nizwa, way back in 2005, the driver-cum-tour guide had an interesting conversation to share with us. He quipped, “Unlike some Gulf states, Oman is a peaceful country, and people are very friendly. But, sadly, our biggest enemy is the car, which kills hundreds every year.”

In 2007, when I think of that statement, I couldn’t agree more with him. Every day I get to hear ghastly stories of accidents happening all over Muscat, or that matter, the whole of Oman. Most of these are passed on by the word of mouth, as the media is not allowed to report on accidents unless it comes officially from the Royal Oman Police.

If travel from Ruwi to Seeb Airport on any given day, and you will see an accident on your way for sure, mostly minor ones given the speed restriction in capital areas. Sometime back I remember reading that the number of accidents and death rates are climbing at a alarming pace every year in Oman. What could be the reason for this?

From the looks of it, a majority of accidents are caused by reckless driving, over speeding and no respect for traffic rules. Changing lanes without signals and tailing have become the order of the day. A drive around 10pm in the capital area is sure to give you an insight on how things generally are!

How do you curb this menace? Presently, the rules are very lax unless it is a lethal crash. For minor accidents, the offenders don’t face the heat since the insurance agency takes care of repairing, etc. So within a few days, the same culprit (read driver) is back on the road with more ‘venom’.

Ideally, the authorities must impose a heavy fine on the offenders. If the culprits are made to cough up RO200 per offence, then it will start ringing bells in them and others as well. This will see the gradual decline in the number of accidents. Another way is to cancel the licence once a person causes three or more offences in a stipulated period of time. But the most important aspect is to upgrade skills of the trainers of driving schools.