The Ministry of Interior has urged motorists to report minor road accidents through the Metrash 2 mobile application.
Although the service was launched in August 2016, only a few motorists have benefited due to lack of awareness, said Capt. Ali Ahmed Al Binali, Head of e-Services, Information Systems Department.
“Since we launched the service in August 2016, until the beginning of this year, we have received only about 2,187 cases of minor accidents registered through the Metrash 2. The number is very less compared to the minor accidents that occur in the country. Among all road traffic accidents, 90 percent are minor incidents,” he said.
The aim of launching the service was to simplify procedures for motorists getting involved in minor traffic accidents.
“Many motorists don’t know that they can register minor accidents through Metrash 2. Also, some don’t know how to avail of the service. Many motorists, when they want to report minor accidents, send pictures of the vehicles and forget to send pictures of the accident. This makes the job of investigators difficult as photos don’t provide enough details,” Capt. Al Binali said in an interview with police magazine Al Shurta Maak (Police with You).
“Due to lack of publicity in the media, motorists don’t know about it and in addition, even those who know about it don’t follow the correct steps to report the accidents,” he added.
To reach more people, the service is available in six languages including Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Urdu and Malayalam. To register a minor road accident, one of the two parties involved in the accident is required to take four photos of both vehicles and send them via Metrash2 to the Traffic Directorate investigation office.
The sender will receive a text message asking him to wait for a second message. After investigation, the party whose vehicle was damaged due to the fault of the other, will receive a text message with instructions to go the insurance company while the party at fault will receive a message with approval for vehicle repair.
