Not so fast! Traffic offences aren't necessarily age-related

Stock Photography of dusk time traffic in Al Barsha and Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai. Antonie Robertson/The National

The announcement of new traffic rules late last month advanced changes to regulations regarding self-driving vehicles, made provision for the creation of a new traffic body and proposed the introduction of stronger tariffs for serious driving offences. It delivered a raft of measures designed to keep the regulatory framework moving at the same pace as technology and society.

It was a proposal about a potential change to the minimum age for young people to get their driving licences, however, that seemed to catch the attention of many.

Regulations currently allow a young person to open their UAE traffic file at 17 and a half years old and start driving lessons when they turn 18, having first completed their theory test. Last month’s federal decree “sets the conditions for issuing a driving licence, including reaching the age of 17”.

Although a final decision on whether changes will be made to the existing framework won’t be made public until March, many people interpret that reported phrase as potentially opening the way for younger drivers to legally get behind the wheel.

Abu Dhabi Police are right to focus on problem behaviours and rules transgressors if the aim is to move towards safer roads

A potential lowering of the driving age, even by a few months, is one of those hot-button topics that always draws strong opinions. Some people believe any increase in the number of young drivers equals more problems on the roads. One expert told The National that “young motorists have the feeling of being invincible and score worst in terms of pretty much all misbehaviour”.

I am not so sure. I don’t think that accident rates will increase dramatically by making such a marginal change to age limits. Why? Because the basket of road offences that contribute towards accidents on our roads include misdemeanours such as speeding, lane indiscipline, tailgating and distracted driving, which are not age-exclusive violations, but more general behavioural issues. Gender is also a key factor in collision rates.

The cause of any traffic offence may be equally related to inattentiveness or irrational decision-making, as it is to inexperience or being new to the roads. That last factor is not age limited, either.

Dubai Police documented more than 35,500 cases of distracted driving in the first half of last year. Dubai Police have previously also identified tailgating as a serious problem on the roads, citing the existence of thousands of offences in a few months in 2021.

Abu Dhabi Police HQ shared one of its periodic clips on social media this week of two accidents that were caused by “sudden deviation and non-compliance” with traffic rules.

In the first part of the clip, a white mid-size SUV can be seen travelling down a four-lane carriageway before it suddenly moves from one of the two lanes nearest the centre shoulder and attempts to exit the main road at a junction only a few metres in front of it.

The car ends up being T-boned by a minivan travelling on the lane closest to the junction, which had nowhere to go. The SUV had travelled beyond the junction that it was attempting to turn into at the point of contact and was seen facing the wrong way down the carriageway at the moment the clip ends.

In the second part of the clip, a dark-coloured saloon car attempts to leave a busy, fast-moving motorway from lane two of a four-lane road when there is no obvious gap in traffic to do so. The car ends up striking a bus before hitting a concrete barrier and flipping over.

Abu Dhabi Police made no note of the age of the drivers in their recently posted clip, but they are right to focus on problem behaviours and rules transgressors if the aim is to move towards safer roads. Several of the new traffic rules announced last month target those road users who put others at risk.

Classes under way at Emirates Driving Company in Musaffah. The National

Other measures could be considered, such as more access to or incentivisation of advanced driving courses to reinforce messages and improve driver techniques and safety. The same goes for speed awareness courses, which could be used as a substitute for a fine in the event of a driver committing a marginal offence. There could also be merit in requiring drivers to refresh themselves of driving theory every few years at licence renewal time, for instance.

Recent academic studies suggest behaviour is the dominant factor in accidents, with even the “close to home” effect (collisions occurring near to familiar destination points) being a critical factor in collision and incident rates. In a study by academics in South Korea using accident data from the UK, the links between collisions and behaviour were “robustly established”.

Another recent study by academics in Alabama of dangerous driving in the US noted that there is a “dearth of studies that provide reliable insights into the question of which individuals are more prone to engaging in dangerous driving”. Their modelling was able to identify “significant correlations” between mature male drivers and the probability of driving under the influence. Male and young drivers were more prone to speeding behaviours. It may be that continued use of targeted public messaging will cut through to those groups who need them most.

All of us are to blame for bad behaviour on the roads and most of us would benefit from furthering our driving education. We shouldn’t instinctively blame younger drivers for problems that present themselves on our roads.