Compared to last year.. Traffic Department: 6% decrease in traffic accident fatalities during the first half

Al-Assaf: Increase in violations for failing to leave a safe following distance due to traffic density

Al-Assaf: Traffic operations are based on scientifically-founded plans and programs

The Director of the Traffic Department, Brigadier General Raed Al-Assaf, said on Thursday that the number of fatalities resulting from traffic accidents decreased by 6% during the first half of the current year, compared to the same period last year.

During his interview on the "Sawt Al-Mamlaka" program, Al-Assaf considered the decrease in the number of fatalities a positive indicator of the impact of the plans and measures implemented by the Public Security Directorate in the field of traffic safety, noting that the ultimate goal of traffic work is to preserve the lives of citizens, and that the decrease in fatalities, regardless of its magnitude, represents an important indicator for the Public Security Directorate.

He pointed out that this improvement came despite a 1.8% population growth and a 4.1% increase in the number of registered vehicles, stressing that preserving the lives of citizens is the primary goal of traffic plans and measures, whether through the Public Security Directorate's plans or partnerships with other entities, in addition to raising citizens' awareness and avoiding traffic violations, especially dangerous violations that cause accidents.

Regarding traffic violations, Al-Assaf said that dangerous violations causing accidents witnessed a decrease in a number of indicators during the first half of the current year compared to the first half of last year, noting that accidents resulting from running red lights decreased by 22%.

He added that speeding violations decreased by 37%, and reckless and exhibitionist driving violations on the road decreased by 46.4%, while violations of running red lights, whether detected through electronic monitoring or by traffic personnel in the field, decreased by 33.3%.

He pointed to an increase in the number of violations for failing to leave a safe following distance, attributing this to the increase in the number of vehicles and traffic density on the streets, especially during morning and evening peak hours, and the accompanying traffic surges on other occasions.

Al-Assaf emphasized that the decrease in the rates of committing dangerous violations is a positive indicator of the high level of traffic culture among citizens, praising their commitment and cooperation, and considering that the high level of compliance represents an incentive for the Public Security Directorate to continue developing its work, keeping pace with updates, providing better service, and raising the level of traffic safety.

He stated that the work of the Public Security Directorate in the traffic field is based on scientifically-founded plans and programs, which are based on setting goals and evaluating the impact of programs after their implementation, whether the impact is positive or negative, and then maximizing the positives and avoiding the negatives.

"Traffic work revolves around 4 main pillars," according to the Director of the Traffic Department, the first of which is governance and legislative deterrence through the Traffic Law and its derivative regulations and instructions, noting the amendment of the Traffic Law in 2023 in line with the requirements of managing the traffic process and reducing traffic accidents.

He indicated that the second pillar is smart monitoring and modern technology, keeping pace with technological development in countries around the world, while the third pillar relates to updating and developing the infrastructure that supports the work of traffic monitoring in the field, and the fourth pillar consists of community partnerships and national awareness.

Al-Assaf pointed out that the Public Security Directorate has adopted these pillars since 2023 within its strategic plans, confirming that all pillars complement each other; one cannot work on deterrence and monitoring in isolation from traffic awareness, just as traffic awareness has its own tools that contribute to changing traffic behavior.

In this context, he pointed out that scientific studies issued by the Jordanian Traffic Institute indicate that the rate of seat belt compliance in the capital is about 85%, in addition to an increase in the level of compliance with not using mobile phones while driving, as a result of citizens' increased awareness of its danger, as well as an increase in the detection rate through technical tools used to monitor these violations.

Regarding traffic-hazardous locations, Al-Assaf said that the Public Security Directorate is working with its partners, including the Greater Amman Municipality, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Land Transport Regulatory Commission, and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, to address locations where traffic accidents recur, which have been identified through scientific equations and studies.

He explained that these locations were divided according to the degree of danger into three groups: (A), (B), and (C), noting that the work included engineering and monitoring aspects, and that the Directorate worked on studying the impact of traffic, engineering, and monitoring improvements on the numbers of fatalities, injuries, and material damage.

He stated that the results of these studies showed a decrease in the number of fatalities in the locations covered by the improvements by a rate ranging between 54 and 56 percent, noting that work will continue during 2026 on the locations classified under category (C), where the monitoring completion rate reached 100%, while the engineering completion rate reached 33%.

Regarding the Desert Highway, Al-Assaf indicated that the Public Security Directorate prepared a study of the road before implementing engineering improvements and infrastructure development, and another after implementing those improvements, which showed a decrease in the number of fatalities and traffic accidents on the road.

He explained that the Desert Highway was dealt with as an integrated package, and the study included a number of hazardous locations extending along the road, from the Airport Bridge to the Aqaba Customs, confirming that traffic and engineering improvements included the road, and that studies and statistics at the Public Security Directorate prove a significant decrease in traffic accidents on the Desert Highway.

Al-Assaf emphasized that work on hazardous locations does not stop at the locations previously identified, as the Public Security Directorate follows up on traffic accidents that occur in various regions of the Kingdom on a daily basis, and their impact is evaluated and their locations are inspected through traffic departments in the governorates and traffic safety committees.

He pointed out that legislative amendments and the establishment of the Higher Council for Traffic Safety have strengthened the role of traffic safety committees in the governorates, which are chaired by the Deputy Governor, and they now have a role in developing engineering solutions for accident locations, confirming that there is a daily traffic assessment of traffic accidents, and solutions are being developed through traffic safety committees in the governorates.