Analysis of Car Accidents in Dubai - Research Proposal Example

Introduction According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report titled “Youth and Road Safety,” road traffic accidents are one of the major reasons of death among young people in the age group of 10 to 24 years. The report states that nearly 400, 000 young people under the age of 25 gets killed in road traffic accidents every year, with millions being injured or disabled. The WHO report further states that most of these deaths and injuries occur in low- and middle-income countries, with the highest accidents taking place in Africa and the Middle East. It says that young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds are killed more in these accidents, and that young males are at higher risk of fatalities than females in the age group under 25 years, in every country. The issue also finds great interest among policy makers, government agencies and other stakeholders as the number of deaths and injuries would rise significantly without a more comprehensive global action. Besides, road traffic accidents cost approximately US$ 518 billion globally in health and other expenditure. For instance, in many low- and middle-income countries, the cost incurred due to road crashes represent between 1-1.5 per cent of the GNP and sometimes even exceeds the amount the countries receive in international development aid (Youth and road safety 2007). Furthermore, most of these accidents are predictable and hence can be prevented, as most involve young pedestrians, young children playing on the street, motorcyclists, cyclists, young drivers and passengers of public transport. There are various factors that increase the chances of road accidents among the young drivers, which include speed, lack of seat-belt, lack of helmet use, and drinking and driving. These factors can be restrained by better government policies, policing and creating better road infrastructure which the experts believe may significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries. The government can also address the issue through enforcement and legislation, and by teaching the public about the use of protective equipment. These factors can be further elaborated through a detailed study of road accidents involving young people of a particular country, for which I have chosen UAE because of the below mentioned reasons. Most media reports and directors of traffic departments indicate that road accidents are the second biggest killer in the UAE. A report released by the Abu Dhabi Police recently indicate that a majority of the road accidents could have been avoided if a set of very simple measures such as complying with traffic rules were adopted with strict enforcement. The report suggested that some motorists and road users are callous about traffic rules and do not care about their safety or of the others. Statistics reveal that there had been a steep increase in death toll in road accidents across UAE, with around 878 people dying in accidents in 2006 and around 1,056 in 2007, an increase of 16.8 per cent. Statistics further revel, that during the first half of 2008, around 433 road accidents in UAE which resulted in 65 deaths, were blamed on drivers aged between18 to 28, as compared to 380 accidents which involved drivers aged 30 to 40, in the same period. In terms of casualties, around 40 people aged between nine and 26 were killed in road accidents in UAE while 541 were found injured, with 34 of them seriously during the first half of 2008 (Road accidents 2008). These report promoted me to undertake the issue for my research as the fatalities are at a huge number and the youth of the country is at a risk of loosing their lives in accidents that could be prevented by formulating better road safety and regulations. Furthermore, youth of any country are its future, their workforce, and if the young people are eliminated in unfortunate accidents, it would become very difficult for a country to progress. Therefore, I have decided to undertake this research to find out the primary causes of the accidents that involve young people in UAE. Methodology In order to conduct research for my paper, I have undertaken a secondary search of available literature on the topic. Most of my data taken for this research are from secondary sources, published media reports and published research reports on the subject line. Furthermore, it is not possible to undertake primary research for this paper as it requires government intervention and large financing. Additionally, this report requires hard facts, and exact numbers for the analysis to be successful. Therefore, sample survey could also not be undertaken for this research. Some of the common sources of secondary data undertaken for this research paper include large surveys, organizational and government records. There are several advantages of collecting data through secondary research, which includes saving time, and collecting a large database. However the major disadvantage of this kind of research is that the researcher could not personally check the reliability of the data. Secondary data analysis is usually conducted by researchers to get a better understanding of a concept. Secondary data helps a researcher to support his or her concept and define the goals of the research by interpreting the data. However, as secondary research totally relies on already published reports, it is imperative to collect the data from reliable sources and check the validity of the data. The data can be easily located with advanced online searches, but one needs to be careful about using out of date or inappropriate data. In order to evaluate the validity of the data a researcher should examine the secondary data and ensure that it is appropriate for the purpose of their study (McCaston 1998). For this particular report, I have used secondary data as it allowed me to conduct analyses of various social processes that involve young people in car accidents across UAE and helped me in gathering data that otherwise would have been inaccessible. It also saved me time and money since the work has already been done and helped me in avoiding the problems associated with the data collection process. Some of the chief sources for my research included data from the Dubai Police’s Traffic Department, Ministry of Interior, WHO reports and various media reporting. Analyzing young people’s involvement in accidents The risks involved for young road users to meet with accidents are higher than that of any other age bracket due to a number of reasons. The primary reason is the exposure to risk factors such as high-speed motorized traffic; vulnerable road users; or the lack of coordination between the road’s function with decisions about driving within speed limits. The young drivers are also at risk due to the use of alcohol before driving, which causes not just self-injuries but casualties for general public as well. Sometimes the severity of the crashes is extreme due to the use of excessive speed, and the lack of use of seat-belts. Furthermore, factors such as delay in rescue operations and lack of pre-hospital and hospital care also result in increasing the number of fatalities (Road traffic crashes 2008). In order to curb these accidents, governments need to understand these risks factors and plan appropriate programmes to reduce road traffic fatalities among this age group. It is also important to implement appropriate interventions targeted specifically at young adults which would help in reducing the numbers of deaths among this population group. According to a WHO report, most of these accidents involving young drivers occur due to the following reasons, the chief being the risk taking attitudes among youngsters. Many young people actively seek out risk, which give them a feeling of sense of control over their lives and sometimes to oppose the authority. Experts believe that youngsters have a high level of sensation seeking behavior and need to maintain a heightened level of physiological arousal. This result into taking risks frequently, which also includes rash driving or driving over the speed limit. Some of these accidents are also caused due to peer influence among the young drivers. Peer pressure can translate into young people taking risky behavior on the road, both as novice drivers or riders. Another major reason for accidents involving young people is because of their Inexperience on the roads. Furthermore, gender also plays a major role with young men are more likely to be involved in a car crash than young women, as men are more likely than women to own and drive a motor vehicles, and engage in risk taking behavior (Youth and road safety 2007). In the context of UAE, road traffic accidents are increasing at an alarming rate and as being recognized as a growing public health problem in the region. Experts believe that the rapid expansion of road construction and increasing number of vehicles has resulted in rise in road traffic accidents in UAE (Bener 2001). Table 1: Summary statistics for UAE (2000) Population 3,108,000 (70% Expatriate) Registered vehicles 575,929 Passenger Cars 540,446 Vehicle travel (Million Km) 1,935 Population per Car 5.75 Population per Vehicle 5.39 Annual Income per capita 22,000 US Dollars Mean family size 5.8 Mean family Income USD 2,853/month Mean vehicle-trip (Km) 10.5 Mean vehicle-km per day 53 Source: Ministry of Interior’s Directorate of Traffic, Road Traffic Accident Statistical Annual Report 2000 The above statistics clearly indicate that although, the ratio of vehicles to population is greatest in the UAE, with about 5.4 people per vehicle, compared to 2.1 people and 1.3 people per vehicle in the UK and US respectively, the number of fatalities per hundred thousand vehicles is more than six times greater than that in the US, and more than ten times greater than in the UK. The major cause of these accidents is due to careless driving, which contributes more than 36.5 per cent of all casualties and fatalities in the UAE. Other factors contributed to these accidents included excessive speed that accounted for 16 per cent of casualties and 27 per cent of fatalities in 2000 (Bener 2005). Various statistics also revealed that most of these accidents are caused by young people. According to the Dubai Police’s Traffic Department, it is estimated that in UAE during the first half of 2008, around 433 road accidents occurred, resulting in 65 deaths, which involved drivers aged between 18 and 28. In comparison, around 380 accidents, that caused 47 deaths, involved drivers between the ages of 30 and 40. Furthermore, around 40 people aged between nine and 26 were killed in road accidents in UAE, and 541 injured, 34 of them seriously, during the same period (Parents told to curb young drivers 2008). Table 1: Comparison between accidents involving different age groups in UAE Source: Traffic Department, Dubai Police The report indicated that most of these accidents involving young people occurred due to speeding or recklessness on the part of drivers, who were aged between 20 and 25. The report further stated that most of the drivers included male and often at the wheel of a vehicle costing over hundreds of thousands of dirham. Experts believe that it is majorly due to lack of personal responsibility in the part of young drivers to act with no responsibility or respect for other drivers. According to the traffic department, the biggest group of traffic offenders is between the age group of 20 and 25 years, who are usually high school and college students (Parents told to curb young drivers 2008). Protecting young drivers Together with generic road safety prevention strategies like implementation of laws, improving the conditions of roads and making vehicles safer, various interventions need to be addressed that aims at reducing accidents involving youth. The UAE authorities have installed around 500 radars on the main roads of Dubai to apprehend drivers violating traffic laws. These radars are installed in some of the most dangerous roads in Dubai, which includes roads like Al Khail, Emirates, and Sheikh Zayed. The authorities have also reduced the speed limits in most of these roads, for instance, in Sheikh Zayed Road the speed limit had been reduced from 140kph to 100kph, in an attempt to deter lawbreakers (RTA: 15% Drop 2008). Furthermore, the government has also amended the traffic law and included provisions for tougher penalties for violations such as, exceeding the speed limit, jumping the red light and fleeing the scene of the accident that involved death or injury. Further, they are also conducting lectures for its staff to familiarize them with the law and how to deal with the public and erring drivers. The government also believes that these amendments would force drivers, especially young drivers holding interim driving license, to abide by the traffic rules as the penalties associated with traffic violation would be harsher. The government believes that due to harsher punishments and better law enforcement, the number of accidents has decreased during the first nine months of 2008, as compared to the corresponding period of last year. According to the Roads & Transport Authority there was a significant drop in roads accidents since the beginning of this year, which has witnessed a drop by 15 per cent as compared to the same period last year. Initial research reveals that during the first nine months of 2008, a drop of 15 per cent in total fatalities had been reported, from 231 cases in 2007 to 196 cases in the first nine months of 2008. The number of fatal run-over accidents also dropped by 25 per cent to 73 cases from 97 cases reported in the first nine months of 2007. However, run-over injuries increased by 8 per cent to 580 cases as compared to 540 cases reported during the same period last year (RTA: 15% Drop 2008). The authorities believe that this fall in fatal accidents was due to the measures taken by RTA, which included implementing better safety and security standards, constructing and improving key road projects, completing pedestrian crossings and fencing on key roads and creating awareness campaigns. Conclusion This research has highlighted the problem of road traffic injuries among young people, which contribute as a serious public health problem in the UAE. The paper indicated that most of the traffic injuries that lead to death were done by people under the age of 25 years. Furthermore, this problem had been found constantly among young men as compared to young women. These road traffic injuries further place pressure on the country’s health care system and its economy, as young people constitute a major part of the working population. The paper also stressed on understanding the reasons behind offending traffic rules by young drivers, as it helps in developing effective strategies to reduce traffic accidents. Many physical and developmental factors were also considered that differentiate young people from their adult counterparts in relation to taking risks and therefore resulting to traffic injuries. Additionally, infrastructural factors were also studied to determine its relation with the involvement of young people in accidents. Some of the general problems attributed to young people’s involvement in accidents included excessive speed, drink-driving, and lack of seat-belt use. Furthermore, the study highlighted the various reforms undertaken by the government and authorities in UAE, which resulted in the reduction of road accidents in the recent past. The paper focused on not just the authorities’ efforts to restrain accidents by better law enforcement, but also on the various programs implemented by the RTA to create awareness among the young drivers and road users. The Traffic Points campaign launched by the RTA in association with the General HQ of Dubai Police in July 2008 has made greater contribution in decreasing the accidents rate in the country. Together with law enforcement, the authorities have also resorted to social means like asking the parents to exercise greater control over youngsters. However, further actions need to be taken by the authorities to curb the number of offenders in the age bracket of 18 to 28 years of age. The authorities should launch comprehensive traffic education campaigns and workshops targeting youths, especially male drivers. My research focused on the reasons for the involvement of young drivers in the accidents and the steps taken by the authorities to curb these accidents in the UAE. It revealed the increasing trend of youngsters being involved in road accidents, due to causes such as drink-driving, reckless driving and inexperience, which can be prevented by greater restraint on the part of the parents and government. The UAE government and the RTA also implemented various programs and regulations to stop the menace, which is showing its result in the general decrease of the number of accidents in UAE during the first nine months of 2008. However, still a lot needs to be done to decrease the number of youth involvement in these accidents. Further research can reveal whether the government and the authorities are successful in implementing programs to curb the involvement of young people in accidents in the UAE. Sources ‘Parents told to curb young drivers’, 18 August 2008, The National, viewed 18 November 2008 . ‘Road accidents second biggest killer in the UAE,’ 3 March 2008, Khaleej Times, viewed 18 November 2008 . ‘Road traffic crashes leading cause of death among young people,’ 19 April 2007, World Health Organization, viewed 18 November 2008 . ‘RTA: 15% Drop in Fatal Road Accidents’, 26 October 2008, RTA, viewed 18 November 2008 . ‘Youth and road safety,’ 2007, World Health Organization, pp. 4-12. Bener A. 2001, ‘Road Traffic Injuries in developing countries: Motor Vehicle Accidents in the United Arab Emirates: Strategies for prevention’, Global Forum for Health Research, the 10/90 Gap in Health Research, Forum 5, Geneva, 9-12 October 2001, pp. 221-222. Bener, D., A. Crundall 2005, ‘Road traffic accidents in the United Arab Emirates compared to Western countries’, Advances in Transportation Studies an international Journal Section, pp. 7. McCaston, M. Katherine February 1998, ‘Tips for Collecting, Reviewing, and Analyzing Secondary Data. Partnership & Household Livelihood Security Unit (PHLS),’ Livelihoods.org, viewed 18 November 2008 . Ministry of Interior’s Directorate of Traffic, Road Traffic Accident Statistical Annual Report 2000, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Read More