How Road Traffic Deaths and Injuries Can Be Prevented in UAE through Educational Programs - Case Study Example

How road traffic deaths and injuries can be prevented in UAE through educational programs Accident rates on UAE streets, roads and highways have been increasing at an alarming rate. Road incidents are especially serious during rush hours, especially on special occasion like national celebrations. Time has come to address and search for Solutions to these issues:- Background  The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is geographically located in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federation of seven emirates namely; Dubai, Ras Al khaimah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ajman and Umm Al-Quiwain, which united as one country in 1971 (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Driven by oil wealth, the UAE economy has grown resoundingly since oil was discovered. Its petroleum, construction, maritime, aviation and healthcare industries have grown greatly. In recent years, the UAE has completed several huge construction projects including the construction of the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building) and the Dubai mall (the largest shopping mall in the world) among other big shopping malls in the gulf region. Other projects include the Palm Dubai Island, Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone and the Dubai International airport. Any analysis of road safety in Dubai must take into consideration the role of these developments (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). These development place pressure on UAE roads; the streets are crowded and people using the roads at rush hour suffer the most. The situation gets worse during special occasions, and I personally avoid the roads during holidays. Key facts provide by World Health Organization (n.d): Over 1.24 million people lose their lives as a consequence of road accidents globally. Road accidents kill more people aged between 15-29 years more than any other cause. Unfortunately, this age group forms the most productive workforce in any country. Middle and low income countries have the highest rates of road fatalities up to 91%, even though only half of the world’s vehicles are on their roads. Vulnerable road users including motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclist and comprise half the fatalities from road accidents. If action is not taken road fatalities will reach an alarming 1.9 million deaths by the year 2020. Unfortunately, only 28 countries have adequate laws to ensure road safety of their citizens. These countries are home to only 7 per cent of the world population or about 416 million people. These countries have passed laws concerned with speeding, drink driving, protective driving gear like helmet, child restraints and seatbelts. Population growth and demographics of the UAE  Due to factors such as high net immigration and birth rates that are higher than death rates the population of the UAE has been increased steadily in the last two decades (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). Many immigrants come to the UAE seeking employment opportunities in its fast growing economy and numerous developments. The UAE has become very dependent on foreign workers to fulfill its growing demand for manpower. According to population data most of the increase in the UAE population is related to the influx of foreign labour force over the past four decades. It estimated that there were 267,000 foreign immigrants in UAE in 1971, 4.1 million in 2005, by the year 2010, 8.1 million immigrants were from all parts of the world were working in the UAE (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). UAE exhibits an unusual population structure as a result of the mass immigration of foreign workers to the country. UAE nationals number 950,000 just 11 per cent of the country’s population. Abi Dhabi, the country largest city is home to 2.3 million people. Majority of the city’s population are expatriate males aged between 20 and 59 years; they make up more than half of Abu Dhabi’s population. Since UAE recruits expatriate workers for industrial and construction work most of them are male. Another unusual aspect of the UAE overall population is that males outnumber females by a factor of 3 to 1 (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). The imbalance is a result of the large number of male expatriates employed in the construction industry. In comparison, the domestic services, health and hospitality industry the main employers of female expatriates require lesser employees. Distinct patterns of nationality can be observed among migrant worker groups. The construction industry and other industries that require manual work are dominated by workers from the Indian subcontinent. On the other hand, most health care workers and middle managers come from neighboring Arab countries, India and the Philippines. While UAE, North America, Europe and Australia nationals are engaged as consultants and senior management. Consequently, the UAE is a cosmopolitan nation comprising of people from diverse cultures, religious beliefs and educational background. This diversity poses a major challenge in the implementation of public health strategies such as education programs to enhance road safety (Ruiz 2014). The main objective of this project is to collect information from secondary data sources such as government report, peer-reviewed journal articles and other relevant publication that address the road carnage problem from a perspective of public health. The Role of Speed in Accidents High driving speed is one of the biggest contributors of road accidents. 14 per cent of all collisions that cause injury are as result of speed, speeding also contributes to 15 per cent of crashes that result to serious injury (ROSPA 2011). While 24 per cent of road fatalities come about because of speeding. Accidents caused by speeding include those caused by speeding in town above the allowed speed limits. Driving too fast in condition like poor visibility, poor weather and high pedestrian activity is also a contributor to speeding accidents. Younger drivers also show a higher degree of recklessness that leads to many accidents. It is reported that 241 people lost their lives in high speed crashes where the driver was above the speed limit (ROSPA 2011). Another 180 died from crashes involving speeding in poor road conditions making control over the car too difficult. The likelihood of accident occurring are heightened where riders or drivers drive too fast (ROSPA 2011). Furthermore, more serious injuries for drivers and other road users result from high speed crashes. Reports show that children and the elderly comprise the majority of car accident victims. Moreover, other drivers make more errors when fellow road users drive at inappropriate speeds. When other drivers drive too fast errors like driving to close and errors due to exhaustion and distraction are likely to be magnified. Exhaustion is another major cause of driving accidents in the UAE (ROSPA 2011). While driving school manuals and instructors advice drivers to break their journey when tired most drivers ignore this important routine. However, tired drivers should not be at the wheel as they cannot focus on the road and in most cases end up causing accidents. In contrast, drivers who observe the advice of their driving tutorials on rests are safer. Higher Speeds Cause More Accidents Speeding is riskier as it offers drivers little time to react to events on the road and it takes more time to bring the vehicle to a stop (ROSPA 2011). The driver’s safety margin is eliminated turning would be near misses into crashes. Driving too fast is associated with road collision more than any other traffic violation. Speeding also causes drivers to commit many other driving violations especially if they are new on the road. Car Drivers Large changes in the velocity of a vehicle increase the likelihood that the driver will be injured if a collision occurs (ROSPA 2011). Very high speeds cause higher velocities in case of a collision. Therefore, a high speed crash is likely to result in the death of the driver. However, most drivers fail to take this into consideration when they drive too fast. The actual risk of injury is interplay of various factors. Factors like vehicle design, speed, body strength, occupant safety system, wearing safety belts, nature of objects and vehicles struck influence the severity of injury (ROSPA 2011). The timeliness and quality of medical attention received after an accident also determines the impact of the injury. On average there is a 17 per cent chance of drivers wearing seat belts dying if the change in velocity is 100M. On the other hand, chances of fatal injuries at 120 KM change in velocity are more than 60 per cent (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Side Impacts Side impacts present the greatest danger to drivers of speeding cars. Where side impact changes the velocity by 100Km the chances of fatal injury are 85% (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Pedestrians Pedestrians also have a higher risk of dying if there are hit by speeding cars. In particular, cars doing more than 80 Km within city limits are likely to cause fatal injuries in pedestrian (ROSPA 2011). Therefore, vehicles are not permitted to exceed 80 km per hour within urban roads. A study into the role of speeding in pedestrian deaths in the Great UAE 4, presents worrying results (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). The analysis reported that 85% of pedestrian fatalities occurred after being struck by vehicles travelling at 120 Km, while 45% were killed by vehicle below 100km, only 8% of pedestrian fatalities were caused by vehicles doing less than 80 km ((Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Below the speed of 80Km, the risk of pedestrian fatality increases gradually (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). However, above this speed the risk of death increases rapidly. If a pedestrian is hit by a vehicles doing between 80 and 100 Km he is 3.5 to 5.5 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries than one hit by a vehicle doing less than 80 Km (ROSPA 2011). the elderly have been identified as the most at risk group of fatal pedestrian accidents. The risk of drivers dying in frontal collision also increases with vehicle speed (ROSPA 2011). Indeed, the risk of death is higher from a side impact collision that from frontal impact on a belted driver. Recent research into the behavior of drivers reveals three types of drivers (ROSPA 2011): 52% of drivers comply with speed limits (termed Compliant Drivers. 33 per cent of drivers exceed the speed limit on occasion (referred to as moderate drivers). 14 per cent of drivers have a tendency to exceed speed limits (referred to as Excessive drivers). In actual case even the moderate drivers have a high tendency to exceed the 80 Km speed limit (ROSPA 2011). On the other hand, excessive drivers completely ignore the speed limit by wide margins. Types of Speed-related Crashes In a study of 7 vehicular crashes involving vehicles travelling above the speed limit or ignoring road condition revealed (ROSPA 2011): Most drivers involved in collision lose control of their cars at bends or in places where they do not pay attention to the road. Unclassified rural roads are the sites of most road collisions; excessive speeds on these roads are considered to be above 80Km while inappropriate speed is over 60 Km Most speed related accidents involve males below the age of 30, while the under 21 demographic are more likely to be behind the wheel during speeding incidents. Car driver and motorcycle riders were more likely to be involved in speeding incidents than drivers of other types of vehicles. Cars with more than two occupant, sports cars, and hatchbacks were the most common cars in speed-related crashes. Reports of deviant behavior among speed limit exceeding drivers were more likely. Such drivers were also reported to be aggressive, reckless and careless, driving stolen vehicles, under influence of alcohol. This report clearly links speeding with other types of risky behavior. Drivers involved in accidents while driving at inappropriate speeds were also said to be reckless, careless or in a hurry. Their vision was affected by rain, snow, sleet, rain, fog and vehicle handling by slippery roads. Driver’s handling of bends is a critical factor in road safety. Majority of accidents were due to speeding at bend leading to loss of control of swinging too wide. Other causes of accidents is driving around blind bends or driving too close to the vehicle in front. How Can Speed Related Accidents Be Reduced? Driver Education The attitude towards speeding in the UAE can be changed through education. Through education people now view people who drink and drive as dangerous, reckless, selfish and antisocial people who care little about the safety of others (Ruiz 2014). However, only gross violation of speed limits leads to condemnation of the bad driving habit. In contrast, the public should also condemn driving at inappropriate speed. The negative impacts of driving inappropriate driving should be demonstrated along those of drunk-driving. This move will help the public appreciate and own the problem of illegal and inappropriate speeds. Convincing the people of the UAE to drive at safer speeds would be much easier if they understood and accepted the apparent dangers of over speeding. They have to be aware that the faster you drive the higher the chances of causing an accident (ROSPA 2011). Furthermore, being focused on the road and attentive to warning signs may decrease the chances of fatal or serious accidents The UAE government can develop publicity campaign on the model of such initiatives in England and Scotland. Scotland have implemented the Fools speed campaign while England authorities have the Think! Road safety campaign (ROSPA 2011). However, the mass media has a tendency to undermine road safety campaigns. Motoring companies continue their own campaign to increase the maximum speeds of vehicles (Ruiz 2014). On the other hand, popular television programs like Top Gear promote the thrill of speed. Emphasis is placed on a vehicle’s ability to achieve maximum speed in the shortest time after starting. Furthermore, even where it is not necessary for TV characters to speed there are depicted driving very fast. The promoters of speeding include TV channels, the print press, motor manufacturers and advertisers. Speed is glamorized as exhilarating and exciting and a good experience that someone should try out. The Advertising Standards Authority has on occasion taken action to discourage advertisements that glorify speeding. More regulatory control should be implemented against advertising using speeding vehicles. Driver Training Over speeding reflects a generally poor public attitude toward driving. However, the policy of licensing drivers for life as practiced in the UK does not help to improve the attitude to driving (ROSPA 2011). By licensing a driver for life the incentive to further develop driving skills is taken away (Ruiz 2014). UK drivers can opt for further training by completing certification such as Pass Plus and other but this is a matter of the driver’s personal initiative. In reality, further training than that necessary to pass the basic driving test is only taken by 3 per cent of UK drivers. Time has come to adopt policies that encourage drivers to further their skills. Report; Refresher Driver training is an investigation into the post-test awareness of additional training, and deterrents and motivation to undergo such training (ROSPA 2011). The Get leaflet also endorses driver refresher training. The UAE has changed its driver training regime significantly over the last 15 years. These changes are aimed at instilling a culture of safe driving among young drivers and new immigrant drivers. The Theory Test and the Hazard perception test were added in 2002, while the main practical test was expanded (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). The UAE also includes the Pass Plus scheme in its driver qualification regime. The UK government on the other hand is implementing Proposal 12 which includes Post-test driver training and the adoption of continuous refresher training. Speeding offenders have to undergo speed awareness courses which improve their attitudes towards safe speed (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). While most drivers believe in driving above 80 Km. A combination of training, education and publicity campaigns can help drivers understand that they have better control over their vehicles if they are doing less than 80 Km (Ruiz 2014). In zones where drivers were forced to drive below the 20 mph speed limit accidents reduced by 61 per cent, and surrounding roads did not record increases in accidents (ROSPA 2011). Traffic flow also fell by a significant 27 per cent on these roads Enforcement Road policing is an important activity in maintaining the safety of road. It serves to reduce road accidents therefore minimizing loss of life and injuries (ROSPA 2011). Devices like cameras and road radars are particularly effective at enforcing speeding regulations. However, road policing is not considered a priority by both the police service and the government. The police service must be adequately equipped to tackle traffic violations (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014). While the police have many priorities which their handle very effectively road safety work must not be ignored. The limited resources of the police force also have to be divided to tackling traffic crimes. Preventable road accidents cause more deaths than any other crime. Therefore road policing should be one of the top priorities of police work. Intelligent Speed Adaptation Intelligent technology that can help driver not to exceed speed limits is under development. Field test 19 show the technology has already matured and is ready for implementation (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). The technology can reduce cases of over speeding significantly and therefore is a benefit to road safety. A good implementation of the technology over the next 60 years could see a significant reduction in road carnage (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Fatal accidents could reduce by between 10 per cent (15,400 accidents) and 26 per cent (43, 300 accidents. Serious injury accidents would reduce by between 6 per cent and 21 per cent (between 96,000 and 330,000 accidents). On the other hand slight injury accidents would go down by between 3 per cent and 12 per cent (between 336,000 and 1.3 million accidents). This technology requires a digital map to be successfully implemented. The map will be able to guide drivers on the speed limit they should observe especially while driving in populated areas (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). The speed limit guidance can easily be updated to reflect road conditions and other factors like road works. Eventually, any driver will be able to know the speed limit of every road within the cars vicinity and ensure adherence to the set speed limit. Some existing Satellite navigation systems can also offer drivers guidelines on speed limits on some roads. However, most drivers rely on legal signage which may be unfortunately out of date. Car manufacturers are also been recruited in the campaign against over speeding. Their possible contributions to this campaign are presented in the Government's Policy Paper Helping Drivers Not to Speed. Employers Driving is considered one of the riskiest jobs a person can earn a living from (Hammoudi, Karani and Littlewood 2014), with over 150 drivers dying or receiving seriously injuries from road accidents each week. Most of those involved are workers who are the most frequent road users. There are either engaged as riders or drivers for their respective organizations. Employers have a big role in ensuring road safety. It falls on them to set journey schedules that do not pressure drivers into over speeding, particularly if they are high risk drivers (Hyder, Puvanachandra and Allen 2013). Company policy should emphasize the need for employees to stay within legal speed limits when driving in the course of their work. Violation of speed limits should be treated seriously by every employer who is concerned about public safety. Driver qualification should asses speed performance, and on-road competence. Furthermore, employers should provide additional training to workers to ensure they acquire appropriate skills Government guidance on the matter of employed drivers is contained in the Driving for Work: Safer Speed Policy, 21. It ensures that driving schedules do not place pressure on drivers to over speed. It also contains a sample safer speed policy which organization can implement or adapt to suit their needs 21 Topics:  Road safety and Abu Dhabi Transport and inside the town ABU DHABI – To ensure safety in Abu Dhabi publicity campaigns on poor lane changing behavior, publicity campaign, enhanced driver training, and stricter police supervision has to be observed (Ruiz 2014). This will make Abu Dhabi roads safer than ever. According to Khalid Al Manor, vice chief executive of Emirates Driving Company (EDC) the leading cause of collisions on Abu Dhabi is sudden deviation or swerving (Ruiz 2014). It accounts for over 18 per cent of all collision as a consequence of driver behavior in Abu Dhabi. According to police reports there were over 15 deaths and 19 severe injuries due to sudden swerving in Abu Dhabi in just three months (Ruiz 2014). Injuries and fatalities were recorded in 86 swerving incidents between January 1 and March 17. Over 1,653 offenders were also fined for swerving violation over the same period. Collision with other vehicles after swerving is the leading cause of road accidents in the UAE (Ruiz 2014). Accordingly, instruction at Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) in Dubai emphasize on practicing good judgment before changing lanes. Drivers should know that putting on the indicator is not an automatic right to change lanes. Robert Hodges, the chief operating officer at EDI however notes that most UAE driver do not bother to use an indicator (Ruiz 2014). He say this level of recklessness on the road is simply too appalling. In the views of Salaheddine Bendak, an associate professor at the University of Sharjah, sudden change of lanes is risky for both the driver changing lanes and other road users especially if it’s done without issuing an indicator (Ruiz 2014). According to the professor education and awareness programs are essential in improving risk judgment among drivers and it should be made a priority (Ruiz 2014). This change in attitude can only be facilitated by requiring offenders to undergo a compulsory refresher course, improving driving school lessons for first-time drives and constantly running awareness campaign on television. Abu Dhabi’s EDG plans to start new driving courses that seek to reduce the occurrence of dangerous driving on the city roads (Ruiz 2014). EDC also runs advanced courses in driving like defensive driving which run every month for people who hold a valid driving license (Ruiz 2014). These courses are optional for drivers who wish to improve their driving skills. Student at the EDC take theory lessons on the reasons of collision which help them to understand the role of driver behavior. However, the support of local authorities is crucial to the success of road safety campaigns. It is important for drivers to focus on staying in control of their vehicle thorough out the journey. Drivers must recognize the most important objective of a journey is to arrive safely. Other goals are far less important according to Dino Kailas, a training director at EDC (Ruiz 2014). Mr Hodges argues that police enforcement must become stronger and visible on all UAE roads (Ruiz 2014). While the UAE police force is brilliant and there are adequate road laws to ensure public safety most drivers just won comply with the law (Ruiz 2014). Most drivers think they will never be caught and thus they flout traffic rules negligently. Noor Ghulam, training manager at Belasis Driving Centre in Dubai, shares the view that traffic regulation should be more rigidly enforced (Ruiz 2014). He also argues that traffic-safety campaigns should be more frequent to secure UAE’s world-class road infrastructure. The Abu Dhabi Police director external traffic and roads section at Col Hamada Al Bloodshed said police were stepping up monitoring and patrol of road through radar in an effort to net Traffic offenders (Ruiz 2014). Sudden lane changes are heavily fined at Dh200 fine and attract four black points on the license (Ruiz 2014). On the other hand, Dh200 fines and three black points are the punishment handed out to offenders who change lanes without indicating. Thomas Edelman, founder of website Road Safety UAE says safety on the road is not rocket science (Ruiz 2014). Every person can learn to drive correctly as this is easy. Since poor lane changing behavior is the number one cause of road accidents in the UAE awareness around this issue should be high Conclusion Taking into consideration the number of injuries and fatalities it cause, there is little doubt that speeding is one of the most serious road safety issues in the UAE. However, the public is yet to appreciate the seriousness of the speeding issue. The public continues to ignore the speeding problem as being less serious than drink driving. The UAE must implement a coordinated strategy to manage the issue of speed. A combination of publicity, training and education, vehicle design and police enforcement can effectively curb the speeding problem. On the other hand, employers have a critical role of ensuring their employees have positive attitudes towards road safety. Most important, drivers must be shown that over speeding is not a minor offence that everyone commits, but a serious, anti-social and dangerous activity. Education on the best mode of driving should be integrated into driving school training programs and exercised practically (Ruiz 2014).Hopefully, the UAE can adopt the recommendation made in this research to improve the safety of its roads. References Hammoudi, A., Karani, G., & Littlewood, J. (2014). Road Traffic Accidents Among Drivers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Journal of Traffic and Logistics Engineering Vol, 2(1), accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.jtle.net/uploadfile/2014/0414/20140414021421214.pdf Hyder, A. A., Puvanachandra, P., & Allen, K. A. (2013). Road traffic injury and trauma care: innovations for policy (ROAD TRIP): report of the Road Traffic Injury and Trauma Care Working Group, accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.wish-qatar.org/app/media/388 Ruiz, R 2014, Education and public campaigns key to reducing UAE road accidents, The National UAE, 13 March, accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/education-and-public-campaigns-key-to-reducing-uae-road-accidents#ixzz39mskGqe3 The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, ROSPA 2011, Inappropriate speed, accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/adviceandinformation/driving/speed/inappropriate-speed.aspx World Health Organization n.d, Road traffic Injuries, accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/ Read More