Volunteers hand dates, water to motorists to reduce traffic accidents

AMMAN — A group of young volunteers has teamed up to provide water and dates to motorists at the end of the daily fast to try reduce the number of traffic accidents in Ramadan. 

Muslims fast during daylight hours in Ramadan and many people rush to get home before sunset, when the fast-breaking iftar meal is shared. 

Every day, a group of young Jordanians gather at a friend’s home in west Amman, packing small boxes of water and dates to hand them to drivers at traffic intersections in the minutes before iftar time.

The campaign is an initiative of Elaph Volunteer and is in its second year, said volunteer Adnan Hardan. 

“We decided to dedicate the minutes before iftar to hand out dates and water to drivers,” he told The Jordan Times at his house as he joined other volunteers packing the boxes.

As soon as Elaph Volunteer announced the campaign on social media, the group received large quantities of water and dates, as well as cash donations, Hardan said. 

“We cover all parts of the Kingdom including Madaba, Zarqa, Irbid and Amman,” he added.

The young Jordanian said more than 200 people are helping in the campaign. 

Mohammad Odeh, another volunteer, said he wanted to fill his free time with a helpful activity.

“I hope that our initiative can help reduce the number of car accidents because many people take to speeding as they do not want to miss having iftar with their family,” the 21-year-old told The Jordan Times as he waited at one of Amman’s traffic lights.

In recent remarks to The Jordan Times Amman Traffic Department Director Col. Bassem Kharabsheh said motorists tend “to become more aggressive, edgy and nervous” during Ramadan.

“From our experience, motorists in general are in a rush to catch the iftar meal and the lack of glucose in their system causes them to become mentally and physically weak,” he said.

“They tend to lose their concentration, and at the same time, they speed to reach their destination.” 

The traffic official said this causes an “increase in traffic accidents especially in the last 15 minutes before iftar”.

Ibrahim Abdullah, who received a small box of water and dates from the volunteers, voiced hope that this initiative would encourage motorists to drive more carefully. 

Hardan stressed that Elaph Volunteer is not competing with other groups that also hand out dates and water to drivers.

The volunteers hope to encourage others to follow in their footsteps, he explained. 

“The idea is to increase these activities. We support this goal because we want to work for the sake of our country and religion,” Hardan added.