Traffic accidents cost Qatar's economy QR3.5 billion annually

By, 2016-11-14

A study conducted by Qatar Road Safety Studies Centre at Qatar University revealed that the Qatari economy incurs about QR3.5 billion annually due to traffic accidents. This cost ranges from health and medical care compensation, maintenance, and loss of productivity with the loss of working hours.

The report added that the number of accidents is estimated at 400 per day which cause the death of nearly 214 people a year.

The theory which was applied in the study is known by the name"human capital", and this theory is based mainly on assessing three major areas; the cost of human damage, the cost of property and physical damage, and the cost of general damages.

The study was actually conducted to find statistical numbers for accidents during the year 2012, and the economy spendings on accidents in 2012 was QR3.2 billion. But knowing that the population of Qatar has grown 7% from 2012 to 2015, hence the expected economy spending is QR3.5 billion.

The study concluded that we should take into account the fact that road accidents have significant consequences on the community, especially social, health, economical and environmental consequences knowing that road accidents are one of the main causes of death in the country.

There is no doubt that conducting researches on accident statistics and costs helps to assess priorities in road safety strategies, and at the same time, it is an excellent messages for decision makers in Qatar to develop solutions to these alarming figures.