Procedures for the Transfer of the Deceased in Traffic Accidents on Long Roads Outside Cities, Governorates, and Centers

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  • The Council of Ministers

  • Having reviewed the correspondence received from the Royal Court under No. 27892 dated 23/6/1437 AH, including the telegram of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Committee for Administrative Organization (abolished) No. (48/104/16/4/31) dated 28/4/1436 AH, concerning the minutes on the study of transporting deceased persons in traffic accidents outside cities and governorates and on long-distance roads.

  • Having reviewed the draft Procedures for Transporting Deceased Persons in Traffic Accidents outside Cities and Governorates and on Long-Distance Roads outside Cities, Governorates, and Centers.

  • Having reviewed Council of Ministers Resolution No. (383) dated 22/11/1433 AH.

  • Having reviewed Minutes No. (301) dated 25/3/1437 AH and No. (535) dated 4/6/1437 AH, prepared by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.

  • Having reviewed the recommendation of the Permanent Committee of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs No.  (7- 37/18/ D) dated 26/6/1437 AH.

  • Having reviewed the recommendation of the General Committee of the Council of Ministers No. (2175) dated 2/8/1437 AH.

  • hereby decides as follows:

    • First: Approval of the Procedures for Transporting Deceased Persons in Traffic Accidents on Long-Distance Roads outside Cities, Governorates, and Centers, in the attached form.
    • Second: The Committee formed under Article (Fifth) of the Procedures referred to in Clause (First) of this Resolution shall review them after three years from the date of issuance of this Resolution, taking into consideration any developments concerning the Joint Communications Center referred to in Paragraph (4) of Council of Ministers Resolution No. (383) dated 22/11/1433 AH.
    • Third: The Ministry of Interior (Public Security) shall increase the training of officers and members of the field teams affiliated with the Road Security Forces and the police in the skills required for handling traffic accidents, in accordance with the requirements of the preliminary investigations under the Traffic Law and its Implementing Regulations.
    • Fourth: The Ministry of Transport shall continue to install kilometer markers as guidance tools used by the competent authorities and shall maintain them.
    • Fifth: The Ministry of Transport shall, within the available capabilities, install gates (which may be opened and closed electronically) on the barriers separating divided highways on long-distance roads outside cities, governorates, and centers, and shall maintain them, in coordination with Road Security, for use solely by the competent authorities.
    • Sixth: The Saudi Red Crescent Authority shall, after coordinating with the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing, study its future expansion of deceased-person transport services to include deceased-person transport services on long-distance roads outside cities, governorates, and centers within cities, instead of municipalities, and shall submit a report thereon within a period not exceeding three years.

  • Prime Minister

Article 1

  • For the purposes of these Procedures, the following words and terms shall have the meanings set forth opposite each of them, unless the context otherwise requires:

    • Relevant Authorities: The Ministry of Interior (Public Security “Traffic, Road Security, Police, and the General Directorate of Civil Defense”), the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Transport.
    • **Traffic Accident: **An accident resulting from the use of a vehicle, occurring on highways outside cities, governorates, and centers, and resulting in a fatality.
    • Emergency Medical Teams: Teams affiliated with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority that transport emergency cases and provide emergency medical services.
    • Emergency Medical Report: A report prepared by the emergency medical teams when a fatality occurs in a traffic accident, containing information on the emergency medical services provided to the case and the diagnosis thereof, as well as information on the principal injuries and missing body parts.
    • Deceased Transport Teams: Teams affiliated with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority that transport fatalities resulting from the traffic accident.
    • Fatality Transport Report: A report prepared by the deceased transport teams, containing information on the transported fatality.
    • Deceased Identification Card: A card placed by the deceased transport team on the wrist of each fatality in traffic accidents, where possible, or in the pocket of the body transport bag, and used to identify the deceased. It includes a field for the case transport report number and another for the unified security status report number.
    • Operations Room: Any call-receiving room affiliated with the Ministry of Interior or the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, as applicable.
    • Security Authority Directly Handling the Accident: The first competent security authority to directly handle the traffic accident.
    • Unified Security Status Report: A report prepared by the security authority directly handling the traffic accident. This report contains information on the procedures taken by each security authority according to its respective jurisdiction.

Article 2

  • Cases in which the patient dies while being transported by the ambulance crew shall be treated as emergency cases and shall not be subject to these procedures.

Article: 3

  • Without prejudice to the competencies stipulated by law for each security authority directly handling traffic accidents; the security authority directly handling the accident shall be responsible for granting permission to the teams transporting the deceased to remove the deceased from the accident scene.

Article 4

Previous Amendments

  • When transporting deceased persons in traffic accidents, the following procedures shall be followed:

    • 1- Upon receiving a report of a traffic accident, the Operations Room shall notify the relevant authorities, each according to its jurisdiction and in accordance with the requirements of the accident.
    • 2- When a death has occurred, the ambulance team shall document it in an ambulance report and provide a copy thereof to the security authority in charge of handling the accident.
    • 3- Upon receiving a copy of the ambulance report, or when a confirmed death has occurred, the security authority in charge of handling the accident shall notify the Operations Room of the death.
    • 4- The security authority in charge of handling the accident shall complete the procedures relating to the death at the accident scene and secure all belongings of the deceased at the scene, except those that are difficult to remove therefrom. This shall be documented in the Unified Security Conditions Report.
    • 5- If more than one death has occurred at the same scene, the security authority in charge of handling the accident shall document the deaths in the Unified Security Conditions Report in chronological order, from the earliest to the latest. If this is not possible, the report must indicate so.
    • 6- Upon arriving at the accident scene, the deceased transport team shall complete a Death Case Transport Report and place an identification card on the deceased for each death. If it is not possible to place the identification card, it shall suffice to attach a copy of the Case Transport Report inside the bag designated for preserving the body.
    • 7- The security authority in charge of handling the accident shall grant the deceased transport team permission to transport the deceased, and the competent security authority shall follow up on and complete all subsequent procedures with the relevant authorities.
    • 8- After completing the procedures for documenting the death at the accident scene, the deceased transport team shall transport the deceased to the nearest hospital containing a mortuary and hand the deceased over to the hospital’s Emergency Department.
    • 9- Upon receiving the deceased from the deceased transport team, the hospital’s Emergency Department shall document the death in the Case Transport Report and complete the necessary statutory procedures for preserving the body in the mortuary.

Article 5

  • 1- A permanent committee shall be formed at the headquarters of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, as follows:

    • A representative of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority             Chairman
      A representative of the Special Forces for Road Security             Member
      A representative of the General Directorate of Traffic                     Member
      A representative of the Ministry of Health                             Member
      A representative of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs           Member
      A representative of the Ministry of Transport                             Member
      The ranks of the committee members shall not be lower than the twelfth rank or its equivalent.

  • 2- The Committee may invite whomever it deems appropriate to attend its meetings, as required in the public interest.

  • 3- The Committee shall meet at least once every three months or whenever the need arises.

Article: 6

  • The Permanent Committee shall undertake the following tasks:

    • 1- Monitor the implementation of these procedures and submit a periodic report thereon to the President of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority.
    • 2- Work to overcome the difficulties hindering the implementation of these procedures.
    • 3- Propose and implement training programs and workshops to address deficiencies in the skills and knowledge of employees in the field with respect to the procedures and their implementation.