Fri, 21 September 2012

MUSCAT -- The organisers of the Traffic Safety Expo 2012 have appealed to the nation's sizable community of driving instructors to inculcate in their students a yearning for safety behind the wheel. In fact, driving safety -- and not performance -- should be a gold standard against which the driving skills of new licensees should be evaluated, it is argued. "Since many people compare obtaining driving licences to obtaining degrees, it must be ensured that a student of driving has the right kind of teacher. Driving instructors have multiple roles to play. Besides teaching learners how to drive, they must also teach them how to drive safely coupled with constant encouragement, proper communication skills and possessing proper driver etiquette themselves.

All these attributes will create a class of safety conscious drivers who will one day take the driver's seat and make their instructors and the nation proud," says Alawi Almurazza on behalf of Traffic Safety Expo 2012, organised by OITE. The Traffic Safety Expo 2012 is scheduled to take place from October 16 to 18, as in co-ordination with the Royal Oman Police (ROP). The three-day event showcasing a range of products, services and solutions related to traffic safety will take place at the Oman International Exhibition Centre from 10 am to 1 pm and 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

According to the ROP, a total of 71,212 driving licences were issued during 2011. While 53,245 of them were male, the rest -- 17,126 in all -- were females. The issuance of a driving licence is the happiest moment of a learner's life. They gain their independence and the keys to mobility. However, it is not the way one drove during their test that determines the way they will continue to conduct themselves on the road thereafter. That lies with the psychological make-up of the individual as well as the safe driving habits their driving instructor has managed to instill in them.

Measures have to be taken to ensure that driving instructors in Oman have undergone proper training and licencing programmes, understand the rules of the road and are committed to imparting the right lessons and practices to learners, especially since learners include the youth segment of the country's population. The Traffic Safety Institute in Oman in particular has been commended as a specialised institute for training traffic officers, road users, driving instructors and examiners. Held under the theme "Safety is Everyone's Responsibility", the Traffic Safety Expo 2012 will encourage participation from all sectors of the country towards promoting safe driving habits among the citizens of the country and bringing down the rates of accidents in Oman.

© Oman Daily Observer 2012