Problem &
Solution
Many people in the UAE are injured or die as a
result of speeding. Why, and what can be done about it?
Introduction:
Speeding: in statistics
The need for speed is a draw for
many people, especially men, all around the world. However, the act of speeding is also one of
the most dangerous things that a driver of any vehicle can do. In fact, worldwide, speeding is one of the
most common factors in creating traffic accidents and crashes. In the USA, alone, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration estimates that the annual economic cost to society
related to accidents caused by speeding is $40.4 billion. In the year 2010, speeding was the cause of
31% of all fatal crashes in the USA. (Traffic Safety Facts, US Department of
Transportation, August 2012, p.1)
Nevertheless, the number of speeding related accidents and deaths is
falling around the world, except in the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, police are trying to deal with
the problem of speeding through lectures, advertisements and seminars stressing
the dangers of speeding. Unfortunately,
many residents in the UAE are not listening to the message as evidenced by an
Emirati driver who got 12 speeding fines in just five minutes in Dubai. (“UAE
Record”, Emirates 24/7, May 8, 2012)
Problem,
In the UAE, speeding continues to be
the single biggest traffic concern. In 2009, the death rate from speeding was
12.9 per 100,000 people. (“Police to Seize Speeding Cars, the National,
November 2, 2010). Throughout the last 3 years, the number of UAE road deaths
has dropped by 25.5 per cent. However,
720 people still died in road accidents in 2011, and 7,800 were injured. (“Why
are the UAE’s drivers so lawless?” My Telegraph, March 28, 2012) In the past, before the oil and money, most people
in the UAE only had cars and trucks that they used for work, driving in the
desert and for farming purposes. Most
families probably had only one car.
That meant people believed that a car was good if it was strong enough
to drive through the desert and on the poor roads. Today a fast, expensive car is a status
symbol for many UAE youths. The same
youths often want to show off their fast cars and driving abilities by racing
each other. Many young people think that
the most important or impressive person is the one with the fastest car. So, in
the minds of many in the UAE, an expensive car and fast driving equals a high
level of status.
Thinking of other possible reasons
for speeding in the UAE, lack of time management and the lack of strong penalties
for speeding come to mind. Many people
in the UAE do not seem to have good time management skills so that they are
always leaving late for things.
Therefore, they try to make up the time by driving super-fast. Added to this problem is that not all of the
streets have radar which weakens the threat of being caught speeding. In addition, the idea of paying tickets for
speeding does not seem to be a problem.
Since many speeding tickets are discounted, up to 50%, at the time of
payment, even the financial impact of speeding is not a big restraint. Added to these issues is the cultural belief
that Allah (God) writes everyone’s destiny.
A 2008 survey of drivers in Al Ain found that 92% of those interviewed
believed that the most likely cause of a serious road accident was “destiny”
while 17 per cent cited the evil eye as the cause and 15 per cent blamed djinn
(supernatural spirits or genies). (“Why are the UAE’s drivers so lawless?”
MyTelegraph, March 28, 2012). With
cultural ideas such as this, it is hard for police and officials to convince
people that speeding makes them more likely to crash and die.
Another reason for speeding and poor
driving of many in the UAE is the nature of the population of the UAE. Emiratis are a minority in their own country. The majority of people are a mixture of
people from all over the world with different ways, attitudes and beliefs about
driving. Many who drive in the UAE, if
they are not able to read English or Arabic, perhaps get a driver’s license
without being able to understand the rules of the road. In addition, what they may think is normal
driving is really fast speeds. For
example, a German may be used to driving fast as they do on the highways in
Germany. The Pakistani drivers may think
that it is fine to speed if there are few cars on the road. All of these different driving styles
combined with fast speeds are just an accident waiting to happen.
Solution
There is not an easy fix for this
problem. The police have taken a
two-sided strategy: 1. Strict action
against those who endanger lives on the road and 2: carrying out awareness
campaigns (especially in the schools and colleges). However, in addition to
these efforts, there are other measures that could be used to reduce
speeding. For example, the use of radar
must be increased so that there are radar cameras every kilometer which will
cut down on speeding. In addition, the
fines for speeding offences should not be discounted. Furthermore, if a person has 10 or more
speeding violations per month, the car should be taken for a period of 60
days. That person’s licence should also
be marked with black points so that if more speeding violations are received,
that year, the person will lose both the car and the driver’s license.
Additionally, the use of unmarked police cars should be increased to cut down
on speeders. In fact, a recent survey
published in 999 Magazine asked 1,350 people across the country and found that
68% of respondents welcome the use of more unmarked cars on UAE roads.
AMEInfo.com, August 12, 2012). Overall,
the government of the UAE has to educate the public that speeding is a serious
offence that will be punished.
Punishment has to hurt people financially and socially so that they will
pay attention to their driving speeds.
References
“Police to Seize Speeding Cars, The
National, November 2, 2010. Http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/transport/dubai-police-to-seize-speeding-cars
Traffic Safety Facts, US Department
of Transportation, August 2012. Http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811636.pdf
“Speeding is UAE's biggest traffic
safety concern, reveals 999 Magazine's national driving survey”, AMEInfo.com,
August 12, 2012. Http://www.ameinfo.com/speeding-uaes-biggest-traffic-safety-concern-308764
“UAE Record”, Emirates 24/7, May 8,
2012. Http://www.emirates247.com/crime/local/uae-record-12-speeding-fines-in-5-minutes-2012-05-08-1.457637
“Why are the UAE’s drivers so
lawless?”, MyTelegraph, March 28, 2012. Http://my.telegraph.co.uk/expat/annabelkantaria/10146959/why-are-the-uae%E2%80%99s-drivers-so-lawless/
