To reduce, as much as possible, the loss of life and losses in property resulting from road accidents in the Eastern Province through the implementation of strategic objectives and the collaboration of various entities concerned with traffic safety. The current challange is to achive the target of second Five-Year plan by redicing Killed and Serious Injury Accidents by 70% by end of 2022.
The idea for the Council was born out of a need for an initiative that would help solve traffic problems in the Eastern Province, which was suffering from a high rate of serious road accidents. The Council was established at the start of 2012 to become the first non-profit entity concerned with traffic safety in the region.
Since then, it has received high level attention with the Eastern Province Governor, His Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, as its Chairman and the Province’s Deputy Governor, Prince Ahmed bin Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, as its Vice Chairman.
This high level Council is made-up of 16 government entities concerned with traffic safety, plus Saudi Aramco, SABIC, the Royal Commission for Jubail , Almajdouie Group and a number of experts.
Under its umbrella is a Technical Committee that includes representatives from every entity and is chaired by a Secretary General from Saudi Aramco.
The Technical Committee’s role focuses on:
The General Traffic Safety Strategic Plan is drafted for 10 years with an execution plan every five years. On 21 March, 2012, the strategy was approved by His Highness Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, may his soul rest in peace, the Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister at the time. The strategy seeks to decrease the total number of serious accidents (resulting in death or serious injury) by 30% within 10 years after the start of implementation. Five years after the strategy was launched, accidents have decreased by 41% in less than the set timeline of 10 years. At the end of 2017, the achievements were evaluated by all Technical Committee members. The evaluation identified the challenges and obstacles that were encountered, and set out new tasks as part of the second five-year plan to be implemented by 2022.
The Council aims to increase traffic safety level on the Eastern Province roads by implementing the strategic plan to reduce killed and serious injuries (KSI) accidents by 70% at the end of 2022 H.
The Council follows two plans:
On 21 March, 2012, the strategy was approved by His Highness Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, may he rest in peace, the Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister at the time.
The strategy provides integrated solutions covering the following four themes:
Aimed at developing the readiness and competence of the entities concerned with traffic control and their affiliates. This is done through establishing monitoring and control centers, using advanced traffic control technologies to improve the effectiveness of managing and implementing traffic systems, and contributing - along with the relevant government sectors - to passing practical road safety legislation and an effective penal system to increase compliance with traffic safety regulations.
Aimed at developing capacities and improving the engineering aspects of road safety. This is achieved by improving traffic management efficiency and increasing the level of safety on highways and roads. This theme addresses the planning, implementation, evaluation, and preventive maintenance of road projects.
This theme aims to change negative driving behavior patterns and the poor use of roads by dangerous drivers. It also promotes positive behavior among all segments by raising awareness through various channels, including interactive campaigns, workshops, road safety competitions, and drafting and teaching educational materials at all academic levels.
Aimed at developing medical intervention capacities, training first-aid responders, increasing the capabilities of emergency rooms, and finding solutions to reduce response time to traffic accidents. It also aims to improve the efficiency of first-aid and medical care in general for traffic accident victims.
During nearly a decade of intensive and continuous work, the Council has added many achievements to its track record and significantly improved the local community's experience on the road. The fact is that tangible results began to appear at the end of the Council's first five-year plan when statistics recorded a decrease in serious accidents by 41%, which exceeded the ten-year strategic target by 30%.
In 2018 alone, the decrease in serious accidents saved approximately SAR 1.242 Billion compared to the previous year, as an example of economic saving, in addition to the human cost.This was in addition to a 32% decrease in traffic fatalities, and a 22% decrease in the number of injuries from serious accidents decreased
These results would not have been realized on the ground, were it not for the vital efforts that have transformed traffic safety into a public concept, through a series of programs, activities, and services extending in scope from young children just starting out in life all the way up to university professors.
The Council addressed the entire community, across all demographics. Its programs reached drivers, policemen, paramedics, doctors, students, teachers, engineers, mothers and fathers, school guards. Everyone was addressed in some way, either through a publication, a training workshop, a kit, a conference, or an academic work. The Council tried to take advantage of a range of means to foster a culture of road safety within the community.