The Abu Dhabi taxi regulator, TransAD, has found a sensible compromise to a situation that was seeing up to 150 drivers a month fired, and consequently forced to leave the UAE, for running a red light. Instead of facing instant dismissal after a first offence, they will now be given a second chance.
The decision brings back into focus the generally poor standard of driving across the UAE, and the inevitable question of what can be done to improve road safety. While it is true, as The National has argued previously, that cabbies are professional drivers who ought to be held to a higher standard than the rest of us, it could also be argued that the penalties for ordinary motorists are too lenient.
In the case of red-light running, private drivers face a Dh800 fine, a 15 day impoundment of their vehicle plus the addition of eight of a maximum 24 black points on their licence. In many cases, fines are discounted in the case of on-time payment, to a point where some drivers see them as a cost of motoring rather than a penalty. By contrast, taxi drivers will now be fined up to Dh2,300, and will have their car impounded for 15 days or be required to pay Dh100 a day for the right to keep it on the road during that period. They will be instantly dismissed for a second offence.
The facts speak for themselves: according to World Health Organisation figures, UAE residents are seven times more likely to die in a car accident than individuals in the UK. Traffic accidents are also the primary cause of death of children in the UAE – yet it is estimated that 90 per cent of children travel without wearing seat belts or other restraints. Road safety is clearly not just an issue for taxi drivers, it is one for the entire community.
As TransAD general manager Mohammed Al Qamzi told The National, some cases of red-light running are caused by tailgating, which gives cab drivers the choice of continuing illegally through the signal or stopping and being shunted by the vehicle behind them. Sometimes, drivers have to make decisions in a split-second, and every road user has a responsibility to drive carefully and courteously. When it comes to road safety, this is one of the few compromises that we can afford to make.
