Dubai's traffic plan sets good example

Dubai's traffic death toll has fallen by 54 per cent since 2007, thanks to that year's meticulous examination of everything about traffic problems there. The result is wonderful news, and should also be signal to many branches of public administration - cold-eyed analysis of a problem, followed by careful plans vigorously enforced, can really get results.

The death toll on Dubai's roads had been growing for a decade, and by 2007 Dubai Police knew they had to act. What they accomplished should inspire many branches of public administration.

The 2007 total of 332 road deaths, almost one a day, was simply intolerable. But instead of just passing a law and hoping for the best, Dubai acted in a precise, logical way. Police analysed the problem in detail and then deployed a range of sophisticated solutions. The result: last year's death total fell to 152, a 54 per cent drop - even though the population grew from 1.5 million to 1.9 million.

Though the 2010 death toll represents 152 tragedies, the trend downwards is something to celebrate. Even better, there is reason to think that comparable successes can be won in other fields - public health, education, crime prevention and more - if comparable methods are followed.

Maj Gen Mohammed al Zafien, the director of the Dubai Police General Traffic Administration, explained this week that in 2007 the force conducted a "Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat", or SWOT, analysis.

The jargon belies an effective process: a meticulous examination of what was good about traffic policies and policing, and what was bad.

On one side of the ledger, a modern road network and plenty of manpower promised to make improvements possible. The difficulties were also identified, with cold-eyed realism, and addressed through calibrated changes. Speed limits were cut, fines were raised, a jaywalking penalty was born, the black-points system came into effect, the use of photo radar was greatly increased, danger spots were identified, more traffic patrols were put on the roads and so on, down a long list. And it worked.

This newspaper has been calling for road safety efforts for years now; we're delighted that this one has been so effective. We hope other emirates follow this example.

The benefits of what Dubai did transcend the death toll, important though that is. Many who drive in both cities find Dubai's roads notably more orderly than Abu Dhabi's these days, although the capital has also taken similar steps. Good laws well enforced seem to have changed the traffic culture, so people behave better even when neither a policeman nor a photo radar is in sight.

The moral of the story shines out more brightly than a green light on a dark night: many problems in public administration will yield to careful analysis followed by rational vigorous action.