Reasons and Effects of Car Accidents in UAE - Assignment Example

Reasons & Effects of Car accidents in UAE Name Institution Date Table of Contents Running Head: REASONS & EFFECTS OF CAR ACCIDENTS IN UAE 1 1 Reasons & Effects of Car accidents in UAE 1 Table of Contents 2 REASONS & EFFECTS OF CAR ACCIDENTS IN UAE 12 2 Reasons & Effects of Car accidents in UAE 3 Introduction 3 Previous studies on the subject of Road accidents in the region 3 General causes of road accidents 4 Relevant statistics 5 The effects of road accidents 5 The Intensity of the occurrences 6 How cases of road accidents can be minimized 8 Examples of measures to be put in place 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Reasons & Effects of Car accidents in UAE Introduction According to Summala, et.al, (2006), road traffic accidents are progressively being acknowledged as a growing problem in United Arab Emirates. The discovery of oil in United Arab Emirates changed several elements of life. For instance, there was explosive immigration which means population increased and hence the number of vehicles increased which led to rapid expansion of road construction programs. However, behavior patterns never changed so fast where the traditional behaviors were mixed together with Western behaviors. The result has been a big rise in the number of road traffic accidents. This problem considerably requires research in order to establish the means of decreasing accidents as well as fatalities that come with the accidents. Previous studies on the subject of Road accidents in the region Previous studies have tackled the problems of insistent behaviors as well as driving offences and how they are allied to traffic accidents. Even though the studies agree that it is not suitable to try to segregate a solitary major cause of the accidents, early researches illustrated that ninety percent of all the traffic accidents could be ascribed to road user behavior attributes (Metery, 2006). As Jadaan, et.al, (2003) explains, earlier studies have illustrated that the rate of accident within UAE are much higher as compared to other developing nations. Therefore, the intensity of the problem calls for more research into traffic accidents and allied effects and risks factors. Generally, the behavior of the driver and the road users encompasses a significant risk factor. Nevertheless, age, sex, education, experience, fatigue, compliance to driving laws, vigilance as well as lifestyle have important roles and should be taken into consideration as being risk factors within traffic accidents (Jadaan, et.al, 2003). General causes of road accidents Lovasz, et.al, (2006) notes that within United Arab Emirates, in regard to the hasty expanding of roads and rise in the number of vehicles, traffic accidents are progressively posing negative impacts to public health. The effects and the intensity of these problems could be significantly decreased in case suitable measures are implemented in regard to road user behaviors. The objective of this study is to examine the reasons for the traffic accidents within United Arab Emirates and the consequential effects of the accidents. According to Grivna (2010), there are approximately six hundred individuals who die in car accidents within the UAE every year. This implies that around 24 people per 100,000 population die and this is an extremely high rate. Actually, traffic accidents are the second main cause of deaths within United Arab Emirates. The reports indicate that unsafe driving practices are regular, more so on inter-city highways whereby drivers tend to over speed. Additionally, there are also numerous unmarked speed bumps which also cause traffic accidents. Grivna (2010) notes that the main risk factors that affect the severity of traffic accidents include: over speeding, dangerous driving which also include mobile usage when driving, not using safety belts, and ignoring child safety restraints. Relevant statistics Statistics indicate that just 11 percent of UAE nationals wear seat belts and just 44 percent of non-nationals wear seat belt. A startling 69 percent of injury deaths result from traffic injuries. Worldwide, United Arab Emirates is among the leading countries with the highest rates of traffic fatalities. There are approximately 38 fatalities resulting from serious traffic injuries within UAE. From the Abu Dhabi Police data, between 1985 and 2008, the severity ratio of deaths per 1000 vehicle crashes rose by 5 fold while the severity ratio per crash rose by 6 fold (Grivna, 2010). The major cause of mortality among children aged between 0-14 years is deadly injuries where 63 percent of these deaths result from traffic accidents. Furthermore, among the vehicle occupants within this age bracket were found not to have utilized safety restraint. About 23 percent cause of all traffic accidents result from reckless driving behavior and not respecting other road users (Grivna, 2010). The effects of road accidents Studies indicate that traffic accidents pose a key public health problem and threaten the quality of life of the UAE habitants. The most affected age groups include the productive age group and children. Additionally, unlike other numerous fatal illnesses, traffic accidents kill individuals from all age groups and this include the young and middle aged individuals with their active years. Further studies also indicate that traffic crashes within UAE resulted solely or mainly from human factors which include reckless driving behavior, tailgating in addition to over speeding. Basically, traffic accidents is a health problem that has been ignored yet traffic accidents cause death of more than one million individuals and injure tens of millions more worldwide. According to UN statistics, nearly 1.2 individuals died from the traffic accidents worldwide in 2000. In UAE, most injuries took place among pedestrians and passengers (Bener, & Crundall, 2005). The Intensity of the occurrences The rate of fatalities resulting from traffic accidents falls with a rise within ownership of vehicles; probably because of a shift to more vehicle/vehicle occurrences as compared to vehicle/pedestrian occurrence, whereby the latter carries a higher probability of fatal accident. Likewise, reductions within fatalities have been noted with increases in GNP per-capita and more fatalities have also been established to rise along with population increase per doctor and augments within population per hospital bed (Lovasz, et.al, 2006). The UAE is a young country which has gone through massive hasty development in road construction as well as the surfacing of high risk road user practices. These elements have congregated to generate a remarkable number of traffic accidents. Traffic accidents are reasonably higher within United Arab Emirates as compared to other Gulf nations with similar vehicular ownership ranks. Even if the rates of traffic accidents are higher within UAE as compared to Qatar, UK, United States, the outline of traffic accident causation is similar. There is a possibility that traffic accident causes within UAE are similar as the causes of traffic accidents within other several nations. Therefore, the problem is the scope of the traffic accidents, rather than the nature of the traffic accidents. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that effective policies as well as media campaigns are culturally specific and psychological aspects of people based in a particular cultural structure should be understood, before planners can anticipate influencing the practices/behaviors of the drivers. In general, traffic accidents cause graver trauma as compared to other accidents since they result into high number of deadly and grave injuries. From to Barner (2005), the behaviors of the drivers were different within UAE when compared to other nations such as Australia and UK. Lapses, errors in addition to traffic rules violations were found to be high among UAE drivers. This means that cultural and lifestyle aspects are strongly allied to higher risk within United Arab Emirates. Driving rules in UAE are reasonable standard and comparable to driving rules in most other nations. Individuals arriving in UAE from other western nations find that the country’s driving is calm and chaotic free. Additionally, individuals from Asian city find that utilizing gears apart from the first and reverse gears is in fact possible within Dubai city and hence it is relatively easy driving in the country which facilities fast and careless driving among the drivers. The police in UAE often request individuals caught up in minor traffic accident to park their vehicles in manner that it doesn’t hinder traffic, exchange details and then go to the nearby police station. Whereas this sound fairly rational in theory, this does not work since in UAE there are diverse nationalities and driving behaviors, and probable language and communication intricacies which results to misunderstanding between the drivers and traffic police and hence controlling the traffic is a complicated task (Grivna, 2010). However, the government in UAE has been trying to implement various polices in curbing the reckless driving and over-speeding which are major contributory to traffic accidents. For instance in 2008, Sheik Mohammad, the Dubai Ruler directed the traffic police to follow up poor driving and the Roads Traffic Authority to establish solution to the traffic problems within Dubai city. Specifically, the police focused on over speeding and careless driving by using traffic signals, whereby the driver loses the driving license if he/she causes an accident. This is projected to decrease the death rate within UAE roads from the highest rate worldwide to the lowest (Grivna, 2010). How cases of road accidents can be minimized In order to reduce the number of traffic accidents, the design of the roads should be considered in future road constructions. This is because the good design of roads as well as the traffic control is significant elements in preventing traffic accidents. Collision of vehicles in motion and also the collision of pedestrians and vehicles in motion can cause fatal traffic accidents (Jadaan, et.al. 2003). Since over speeding is among the two leading causes of accidents within UAE, speed limit while driving should be considered in prevention of the accidents. Speed limits are supposed to be imposed while driving since it reduces the probability as well as the severity of an accident. The concerned traffic authorities should be always on the check to make sure that drivers adhere to the recommend speed limit and those violating the rule should face the appropriate disciplinary measure. The suitable speed limits ought to be efficiently communicated to drivers of all vehicles (Patamasiriwat, 2008). Careless driving behavior is the major cause of traffic accidents and hence appropriate measures should be employed to tackle careless driving. Any driver found to be violating the traffic rules should face the necessary disciplinary action. Training regarding road safety is a fundamental element of controlling traffic and is supposed to cover the drivers, the pedestrians, the public as well as those responsible for the enforcement of traffic rules. The drivers must be licensed to drive and the licenses and also the drivers should be routinely evaluated for competence. The traffic authority should ensure that only the authorized drivers are permitted to drive. Moreover, the vehicles should always be checked to ensure if they are road worthy and this is to prevent traffic accidents resulting from faulty vehicles. The concerned traffic police may carry out spot checks and inspections to make sure appropriate safety standards, driver competence as well as vehicle maintenance is being accomplished (Kasarntikul, 2008). Additionally, traffic flow which in most cases leads to congestion and likely cause of traffic accidents can be addressed to reduce traffic accidents. To control flow of traffic effectively, several measures can be integrated to manage traffic flow within congested areas and decrease speed in the appropriate areas, for example in roundabouts. Examples of measures to be put in place Traffic lights can be utilized in controlling traffic flow at busy junctions, within narrow places and roundabouts. One-way structures ought to be considered where necessary to decrease the possibility of collision, decrease congestion as well as enhance the movement of traffic. Roundabouts can facilitate traffic flow and steer clear of road traffic turning straight in front of on-coming traffic. Gadgets used in calming traffic like speed humps may be integrated into road design on places perceived as high risk to promote a decrease in speed while driving in these places (Alwash, 2008). Conclusion Road traffic accidents being a key health hazard, results into a high mortality rate of death as well as disability and this affects the victims, the family and the country at large greatly in regard to socio-economic impact. The problem is not obstinate and the toll can be significantly lowered if suitable measures are taken. In most cases, drivers within UAE have been shown to employ numerous dangerous and unsafe driving practices and that driver conformity with traffic rules is poor. Fatalities resulting from the accidents can be practically lowered through improvement of medical services in addition to education. Even if road and vehicle engineering measures are important in decreasing traffic accidents, engineers should acknowledge that road safety is multidisciplinary and make sure that their work is incorporate d with that of others. They should take into consideration the flawed road user behavior and therefore design system to lessen the consequences. Accordingly, it is recommended that, to offer better understanding, a broad in depth study of cause of traffic accidents focusing on the human factor be conducted. A decreased in crash rates as well as changes in driving practices is needed for safety and improved quality of life in UAE. References Alwash, R. (2008). Motor vehicle crash injuries and speeding in United Arab Emirates. Traffic Injury Prevention. Vol. 6/61-64. Bener, A & Crundall, D. (2005). Road traffic accidents in United Arab Emirates compared to Western countries. Advance in Transportation Studies; an international journal. Section A6. Bener, A. (2005). The neglected epidemic: Road traffic accidents in a developing country. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion. Vol. 12/1. Grivna, P. (2010). Safe Kids Middle East. UAE: UAE University. Kasarntikul, V. (2008). The study of causes of motorcycle accidents and ways for prevention in Thailand. Bangkok: ChulalongkornUniversity. Jadaan, KS, et.al. (2003). Strategy to improve road safety in developing countries. Saudi Med J. Vol. 24/603-606. Lovasz, G, et.al. (2006). The Impact of Four-Wheel Drives on Road Traffic Disability and Deaths Compared to Passenger Cars. JCPSP. Vol. 16/4. Metery, K. (2006). Causes and effects of road traffic accidents in United Arab Emirates. Public Health. Vol. 1/4. Patamasiriwat, D. (2008). The economic loss caused by traffic injuries. Khon Kaen: Pen Printing. Summala, H, et.al. (2006). Careless driving, speeding violations and their relation to accident involvement. Economics. Vol. 45/469-483. Read More