The Center Participates in the First Scientific Forum to Reduce Accidents
Two faculty members from the Urban and Regional Planning Center for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad, Professor Dr. Areej Khairi Al-Rawi and Professor Dr. Nada Mohammed, participated in the First Scientific Forum on Reducing Traffic Accidents, held at the Babylon Hotel in Baghdad. The forum was attended by the Minister of Interior, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, his Deputy for Police Affairs, Lieutenant General Hadi Arzij, the Director General of Traffic, Lieutenant General Dr. Uday Samir, as well as traffic directors from all governorates and a group of academics from the University of Baghdad.
Al-Rawi presented her research paper, titled “The Importance of Road Hierarchy in Achieving Traffic Safety,” at the meeting. She highlighted the problem of the unplanned construction of several private colleges, which has caused significant traffic congestion and obstructed the flow of vehicles during peak hours. This, coupled with the sheer number of vehicles, has led to an increase in traffic accidents due to pedestrians not using designated overpasses or pedestrian crossings. She emphasized that the Minister of Interior praised the importance of this scientific and practical approach and stressed to the traffic directors in the governorates the necessity of holding an annual forum on this topic in Baghdad and all governorate directorates.
The meeting concluded with a set of recommendations, including the development of a strategy to reduce traffic accidents, to be presented by conference participants; attention to the hierarchy of roads and specifications that accommodate new uses, after confirming the locations of newly established colleges within a mechanism that includes planning phases; providing a database and analyzing it using smart systems and artificial intelligence; and emphasizing the adoption of smart systems for renewing vehicle registrations, issuing driver’s licenses, and administering driving tests, along with adopting new mechanisms for managing the movement of cyclists.
