DOHA: A total of 1,400 students in Qatar have benefited from one-to-one coaching on road safety at their school this year as part of ‘Students for Road Safety’ — a programme initiated by Maersk Oil Qatar and the Traffic Department at the Ministry of Interior.
The programme aimed to raise awareness and change hazardous behaviours on roads.
Students for Road Safety targets students aged 12 to 18 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 behaviours. It was launched in 2013 by programme owners Maersk Oil Qatar and the Ministry of Interior as part of the national ONE SECOND road safety initiative.
Brig Mohamed Saad Al Kharji, Director-General of the Traffic Department said: “By working together we can improve the behaviour on Qatar’s roads and reduce the number of injuries and deaths. Students for Road Safety is in keeping with Qatar’s National Road Safety Strategy which the Ministry of Interior launched in 2013 to make our roads safer. 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 Students for Road Safety programme is an integral part of the Darb Al Saai National Day celebrations. Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad Al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar, said: “Students for Road Safety is a fantastic, grassroots example of Maersk Oil’s commitment to bring lasting benefits to Qatar over many generations. The road safety simulator that is 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.”
The Peninsula
