ABU DHABI // Driving schools should be strictly monitored to ensure that students are taught safe driving skills and do not obtain licences through nepotism or family connections, said experts and residents.
Instructors should not only focus on helping students to pass the driving test, they also ought to teach students to drive defensively and be alert to potential road hazards.
Saif Al Muhairi, 28, an Emirati university student in Dubai, said passing driving tests was about connections.
“An Iranian friend told me how he managed to pass an internal test at a reputed driving school in Dubai through wasta [Arabic for connections]. The one who tested him happened to be a fellow Iranian,” he said.
There were instances when students pay for lessons without attending them, said Kamui Mahtani, 27, a motorsport enthusiast who has been working in Dubai for four years.
“I tend to be the go-to guy for many of my friends when it comes to car-related issues,” he said. “They’ve told me about friends or relatives having connections in the driving institute who easily pass internal assessment tests within a short span of time.”
At Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) in Dubai, “wasta is irrelevant since all students must take at least the minimum required number of lessons and subsequently pass the internal assessments and theory tests”, said Robert Hodges, EDI’s chief operating officer.
“The EDI and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) computer and monitoring systems tightly control the progress of each student,” he said. “However, this is not the case in some emirates. I would expect anomalies due to wasta or other familial considerations might occur but never EDI or its subsidiaries. This would be breaking the law.”
If EDI students fail their tests, they are provided one-on-one remedial training. “Only when the student is at a satisfactory level will they progress to the RTA road test,” said Mr Hodges.
But that might be the case at driving schools that hire unqualified instructors, said Mr Al Muhairi, who obtained a motorcycle licence last year.
“My instructor didn’t even speak Arabic and English, so I really don’t know how I passed the test,” he said. “I may have a licence, but I’m just too scared to ride a bike. I know how to control the brakes but I don’t know much about the rules on the road.”
Thomas Edelmann, founder of Road Safety UAE, said driver education should be a comprehensive learning experience, with instructors teaching students to drive carefully.
“Students must have the technical skills, the proper etiquette and the mindset about improving the level of road safety,” he said.
Instructors must not only be highly qualified but also serve as good role models and mentors, he added.
“On some occasions I witnessed driving school cars with the instructor speeding or not using indicators and displaying a lack of lane discipline,” Mr Edelmann said.
“It all seems ironic after witnessing these kinds of violations by reputed driving schools.”
Instructors driving while using a handphone, turning without using their indicators, and aggressive lane changes are common in Dubai, according to Mr Mahtani.
“Clearly if that is how an instructor drives, his style of driving may be passed on to his students,” he said.
Mr Hodges, however, said that vehicles at his school were equipped with mobile data terminals that monitor training performance and vehicle routes, positioning, speed and parking time.
“If any of our instructors commits a driving infringement, they will be subject to disciplinary and re-training process, which rarely happens,” he said.
The RTA was not available for comment.
rruiz@thenational.ae
