Oman sees road safety concern

The rate of road fatalities in Oman has increased for the first half of 2016, compared with the same period for last year. Road deaths increased by 8.4% to 336 in the first six months of 2016, compared with the figures collated for same period in 2015. However the number of road crashes in the first six months of 2016 dropped by 37% to 2,100, when compared with the same period in 2015. The number of serious injuries caused by road crashes dropped 23.3% to 1,410 for the first six months of 2016. Of those killed in crashes, 219 were Omani citizens, an increase of 4.3% of locals killed in impacts for the first half of 2016. Meanwhile deaths of expatriates in road crashes grew by 17% to 117. The data also reveals that the majority of the road deaths were of men, accounting for 184 of the Omanis killed and 101 of the expatriates.