Father teaches children to be ‘defensive pedestrians’ in Dubai

Airline pilot Konrad Warner wants his girls to do more than look both ways before they cross the street.

Konrad Warner, an airline pilot, is taking it upon himself to teach his two daughters to be 'defensive pedestrians'. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

ABU DHABI // Konrad Warner is taking the theory of defensive driving up a notch and teaching his children how to be defensive pedestrians on Dubai streets.

The father-of-two wants them to anticipate every possible danger that careless road users might put in their way.

Outside his children’s school, drivers jump red lights at the crossing. Signs, traffic lights, raised roadways and crossing guards are often ignored, he said.

Defensive walking is about thinking ahead to what drivers might do, such as anticipating that they might speed up or run a red light at junctions.

“I’ve seen drivers race over speed bumps in my neighbourhood, as if the bumps were mere shadows,” said Mr Warner, 53, who lives in Motor City.

“They live in the area, know the bumps and have no intention of slowing down, not caring about the damage to their cars, or momentary loss of control as the cars become airborne over the bumps.”

Mr Warner, an airline pilot from Jamaica, said he has been accident-free in his 34 years of driving.

“It’s not necessarily because I’m a great driver but mostly because I pretend that the other drivers around me don’t see me,” he said.

“If we go about the main UAE highway pretending that we are invisible, then the selfish, irresponsible and ultimately dangerous actions of others won’t have as great an impact on us.”

“Even if the pedestrian traffic signal turns green, we look at the oncoming traffic before we cross the road,” said Thomas Edelmann, founder of Road Safety UAE.

“At zebra crossings, we need to make sure that vehicles stop for us before we start crossing the road. We should not force our way even if we have the rules on our side.”

Mr Warner practices defensive walking as well as driving.

“Don’t cause other drivers to adjust their driving,” he said. “They must not have to brake, swerve, accelerate, turn or think about you at all. Assume that they have not seen you at all.”

He has taught his daughters Laura, 14, and Ashley, 9, not to assume that the driver sees them. They are reminded not to interact with any vehicle and to cross the road only when the car has passed.

The girls have been taught to decline the offer of a driver who motions them through at a pedestrian crossing.

“As cars go by, there will be somebody who will stop and tell them it’s OK to cross, but I tell them to turn their back to the traffic,” he said.

“I tell them not to make eye contact with the driver, so there’s no guilt. Look to your left and, if there’s no car, you go.

“It’s because that driver cannot protect them. Delivery bikes come through between the driver and the sidewalk, or if on a multi-lane road, other drivers will switch lanes and come through the pedestrian crossing anyway.”

Run-over incidents made up a large proportion of road accidents in Dubai. In the first three months of this year, five people were killed and more than 90 injured in 86 incidents, said Dubai Police.

“It is unfortunate that motorists often overlook pedestrians or simply do not care for them or stop for them,” Mr Edelmann said. “This is puzzling since motorists [should] not forget at all times that when they step out of their vehicle, they also become pedestrians.”

All pedestrians and cyclists should remember that they are responsible for their safety, said Dino Kalivas at the International Road Federation.

“We need to stop and take one step back from the kerb or shoulder of the road if there is no walkway, and look and listen in all directions for approaching traffic,” he said. “We need to think about whether it is safe to cross the road, when the road is clear or all traffic has stopped, and obey and observe the traffic lights and signals.”