RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has reported more than a 37 percent drop in deaths rate caused by traffic accidents following the implementation of automated Saher system, according to a study by the Riyadh-based King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC).“The introduction of Saher system has reduced the severity of traffic accident injuries by 20 percent and mortality rate by 37.8 percent,” said Sulaiman Al-Ghannam, principal investigator, while giving details of the new study. The drop in road fatalities is the result of recent efforts of the Saudi government to improve urban mobility by investing in safe infrastructure including Saher system. Al-Ghannam said: “The motive for such studies is to evaluate laws aimed at traffic safety and provide evidence of their effectiveness. Motor vehicle accidents constitute 53 percent of the total injuries, causing 17 deaths a day, costing SR55 billion annually.”He said that the study “provided evidence of relationship between implementing the Saher system and reducing the severity of injuries and the mortality rate due to traffic accidents.”He added the study was based on the admission of traffic victims to different health facilities including the emergency ward of the King Fahad Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City and the Ministry of National Guard — Health Affairs facilities.Al-Ghannam pointed out that due to the need to reduce the traffic accidents, KAIMRC established the first injury record in the Kingdom under the supervision of Ibrahim Al-Babtain to be the leading reference in the Gulf region for research in this field.He also noted that King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) provides support for the program to manage and record injuries systematically. The Saher system has been implemented globally and has consistently reduced the mortality rate with 25 percent in average.
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