Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

A traffic safety manual designed for the citizens of Oman for the age’s between 18-30.

Created by: Al Balushi, Khadija

April 25th, 2014

Table of Contents iii

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iii

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... v

Chapter One: The main Omani road traffic rules ....................................................................... 3

Chapter Two: Budgeting for the distribution of the brochures, and flyers and the different

types of drills. ................................................................................................................................ 7

Chapter three: Road traffic accidents solutions ......................................................................... 13

Road traffic signs around the world: ............................................................................................. 15

Index ............................................................................................................................................. 19

v

Introduction

Who should use this manual? The Royal Omani Police (ROP) should use this manual to decrease the amount of road traffic accidents. It would be the mission of the ROP to distribute this manual among individuals, organizations, schools, and universities. People who are reading this manual do not have to be experts. This manual will guide people to a safer way of driving and living. Nevertheless, if one is well informed about any of the content one can use the table of content to choose the topic that most interest him/her and the one that he/she feel that would benefit from.

How should you use it? Take a look at the table of content, in order to get a general idea about the topic. Take as much time as possible to learn tips, rules, and solutions. The author of this manual designed it to benefit the citizens of Sultanate of Oman as much as possible.

What’s covered in this manual? This manual covers 4 main sections:

• Road traffic rules in Oman. • Budget issues. • Traffic accident solutions. • Brochures and flyers information.

This manual also includes the most common road signs and some of the differences in the rules of the road around the world.

vi Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Chapter One 3

Chapter One: The main Omani road traffic rules Here are some of the main traffic rules in Oman.

• People drive on the right side of the road.

Figure 1- a traffic sign that shows which side of the road to take.

• The minimum driving age for light vehicles is 18 years, for heavy-duty vehicles and trucks – 21 years.

• Drivers should not turn right at a red traffic signal.

Figure 2- a sign that shows that the right turn information.

• Drinking while Driving is illegal. • Having third party insurance is mandatory in Oman. • Speeding over 40km/h in the city and 100 km/h on highways is illegal.

4 Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Figure 3- a sign that shows the speed limit.

• At the roundabouts and junctions where the traffic is not organized, vehicles which actually entered the roundabout or junction, or which are coming from a main road, have the right of way.

• Drivers may not leave a vehicle on or besides the road without taking necessary Precaution, such as turning on caution lights.

• Drivers must not litter because it could cause a road hazard.

Figure 4- an image showing littering.

• Drivers must allow emergency vehicles to pass. • It is illegal to use sound or light warning devices similar to the emergency vehicles

devices. • On a narrow road, drivers should keep to the right side upon meeting a vehicle coming

from the opposite direction. • Slow moving vehicles must keep to the right of the road.

Chapter One 5

Figure 5- a sign that shows the slower drivers what road to take.

• Drivers must not overtake another vehicle from the right side unless the driver of the front vehicles gives a signal indicating his/her intention to change his/her lane to the left and the road permits the same.

• The vehicle, which comes from a side street, must allow the oncoming vehicles on the main road to pass.

• At the junction of equally important roads, coming vehicles from the right have the right of way.

• Drivers must not park at pedestrian crossings; on bridges and in tunnels; at the curves; in front of the entrances of the Royal palaces; entry and exit points of the vehicles parking areas, petrol stations, hospitals, schools, buses stations, firefighting centers, Police and Military areas; within 10 meters from the junctions and roundabout entrances.

Figure 6- a sign that shows that parking is not allowed in the area.

• Drivers must not drive a vehicle at night without head lights. • Drivers must not use red reflecting devices or items in the forefront of the vehicle. It is

also prohibited to use white lights and red items at the rear part of the vehicle. • Drivers must not park at the left side of any main road during the dark hours with its front

lights facing the coming traffic.

6 Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

• Drivers may not cross an unbroken white line. • Drivers must give priority to pedestrians stepping on the pedestrian crossing.

Figure 7- a sign that shows that it is a pedestrian crossing area

Chapter Two 7

Chapter Two: Budgeting for the distribution of the brochures, and flyers and the different types of drills.

1-The ROP should set the budget based on the size of the targeted region. Typically traffic road awareness campaigns budgets range from 3000 R.O ($7789.51) – 5000 R.O ($12982.52).

2- The ROP assign an amount of the money into each section of the manual. Fill in the following table-add or delete unnecessary sections as needed.

Item Budget Flyers

Brochures

Drillers

Food

Awards

Total budget:

Table 1 – budget

8 Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

How to do it?

1- Flyers.

The designing process: For easy made flyers follow these instructions:

• Use Microsoft office 2013. • Click on Word 2013. • Click on File > new > Event flyer. • Create your design based on audience age. • Include Illustrations of the most common mistakes, instructions on how to fix them, and

safety tips. • Keep it simple and clear as showed in the following image.

Chapter Two 9

Figure 8 – a flyer sample.

10 Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

The distribution process: The ROP will distribute these traffic safety flyers to schools, universities, and work places. They also can E-mail it to different organizations in the outlying areas, and allocate them with a sum of money for the distributers, and the printing cost. The ROP expect to receive back a receipt that indicates that these establishments printed the flyers, and paid the distributers.

2- Brochures.

The designing process: For easy made brochures follow these instructions:

• Use Microsoft office 2013. • Click on Word 2013. • Click on File > new > brochure. • Try to keep your design interesting for your audience. • Include images of traffic signs, different laws in Oman, and safety tips. • Make sure that it is easy to understand the content of the brochure for non-Arabic

speakers- beside the descriptions provide clear pictures.

Chapter Two 11

Figure 9 – a brochure sample.

The distribution process: The ROP can give these printed brochures to students, teachers, employees, and can show them on public properties like administrations, mosques, gardens, and malls parking lots. The ROP should make sure that the size of the print is clear, and that they publish it in all common languages in Oman.

12 Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Chapter three: Road traffic accidents solutions

Many countries have developed advanced traffic communication systems that work to alert the drivers to the changes on the roads, giving them enough time to decide what road to take. Some of the solutions that Oman can use to address highway congestions are:

• Ramp metering- cars are only allowed to enter the highway at a specific timing. This system can be done by placing a reduction of 29.4 million hours annually, also it would decrease traffic accidents. Though ramp metering has its benefits, it usually takes a long time to implement and it requires investigations to make sure surface street traffic isn't affected as cars back up to enter the highway.

Figure 10 – an image that shows ramp metering on a road.

• High-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) - HOV lanes are for cars with usually more than two people per car. Drivers will be encouraged to carpool, which will reduce the total number of cars on the highway. Some HOV lanes have exclusive off-ramps, reducing the need to merge with other traffic.

Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Figure 11 – an image that shows HOV lanes on a road.

• Adding lanes - a common solution for congestion problems is to add lanes to the highway. It is done by either widening the road, decreasing the width of existing lanes or converting a shoulder or other space into a lane. These adjustments and constructions are expensive, time consuming and controversial, but it is still considered as a solution.

Figure 12 – an image that shows adding a lane to the road.

Road traffic signs around the world:

Figure 13- the most common signs on the roads.

Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Figure 14- Regulatory signs.

Figure 15- information signs.

Traffic safety manual for the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman.

Figure 16- an image that shows which side of the road to take around the world.

Index

Index accidents, v, 13 brochure, 10, 11 carpool, 13 cars, 13 content, v, 10 emergency, 4 Figure, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14,

15, 16, 17, 18 Flyers, 7, 8 highway, 13, 14 illegal, 3, 4 manual, v, 7

Oman, v, 3, 10, 11, 13 organizations, v, 10 pedestrian, 5, 6 priority, 6 prohibited, 6 right, 3, 4, 5 road, iii, v, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14,

18 ROP, v, 7, 10, 11 rules, iii, v, 3 schools, v, 5, 10 signs, iii, v, 10, 15, 16, 17 solution, 14 Traffic, v