Offences reveal a fatal disregard for traffic rules

We all know the rules of the road, so why do with disobey them with sometimes-fatal consenquences?

A new study showing that 38.6 million traffic offences were recorded on UAE roads between 2007 and 2012 should be a matter of grave concern for us all. Considered alongside World Health Organization figures showing that the UAE has almost four times the number of road fatalities per head of population as the UK and twice that of Canada, the study makes it clear that further action must be taken to reduce accidents, and save lives, by ensuring greater adherence to the traffic rules.

These figures don’t necessarily mean that driving standards are slipping, because they reflect a greater number of vehicles and the growing use of radar cameras to catch offenders. They are, however, unacceptably high and they seem to underscore an endemic casualness about the rules of the road among all drivers in the UAE.

Maj Rashid Al Fardan, head of traffic survey at Sharjah Police, told The National that the study identified aggressive behaviour such as tailgating, speeding and reckless driving as the leading causes of accidents. As we report today, Dubai Police have caught 13,000 drivers jumping red lights in that emirate alone in the past 11 months. This kind of driving resulted in 158 crashes in which six people died and 238 were injured.

There are no valid excuses for disobeying road rules. We all know that road accidents kill, yet we think it won’t happen to us. Seatbelts, airbags and warning devices are standard in new vehicles, but they won’t save lives if the driver remains oblivious to, or contemptuous of, the law.

Road fatalities are costly to the nation – they use up valuable police, emergency services and hospital resources – but, more importantly, they incur a huge personal toll. Almost every day, families are torn apart and lives are ruined through avoidable accidents.

Current strategies are clearly not working well enough to stop traffic infringements, so it is time for a rethink. Better road education at school, more rigorous tests before licences are issued and continuing safety campaigns are all part of the solution. But it is also time for the authorities to consider much harsher penalties, including higher fines, compulsory loss of licences for repeat offenders and, in extreme cases, confiscation of vehicles.

For individuals, it’s a matter of realising that we all must try harder to be attentive, safety-conscious drivers, to know and obey the rules. In the end, it comes down to respect: for the power of the vehicle you are driving, for your passengers and fellow road users, and for the value of human life.