Governments are key to making roads safe, transport experts say

British consultancy Transport Research Laboratory provides governments all over the world with independent and impartial research, consultancy and testing for all aspects of transport.

ABU DHABI // Governments play a critical role in making the roads safe for motorists and other road users, specialists at the Transport Research Laboratory say.

The British consultancy provides independent and impartial research and testing for all aspects of transport. These include road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users and post-crash response.

“Governments have the responsibility to ensure the safety of our roads,” said Simon Labbett, regional director of TRL, which has an office in Abu Dhabi. “Large numbers of fatal incidents are however not a failure of individuals but a reflection that we have not achieved the right policies and standards as a society.”

Mr Labbett, who has been working in road safety for about 36 years, first came to the UAE in 2007 to help out in an incident management project with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.

“This was intended to be a short-duration trip,” he said. “However, some six and a half years later, I am still here.”

In the UK, he was originally involved in police enforcement where he saw first-hand the aftermath of collisions, the life-changing trauma they left behind and how they were caused. He subsequently became a specialist collision investigator and was invited to become the chairman of one of the world’s largest international collision investigation institutes.

He qualified as a vehicle engineer and a few promotions later, took over the secretary role of the UK collision investigation portfolio on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers. He was awarded a Bramshill Fellowship for his research into better understanding of motorcycle collisions.

Mr Labbett, who completed a Master’s degree in cognitive psychology, was also awarded a Fulbright fellowship in the United States to research the application, training, and management of road homicide investigations.

“I now assist governments in advising on policy and strategy as well as continuing to engage in high-profile collisions around the world,” Mr Labbett said.

Britta Lang, principal road safety scientist at TRL, said governments need to develop and put in place road safety strategies that spell out what actions need to be undertaken to systematically progress the road safety agenda.

“Government sets the legal framework and standards for road transport, builds and maintains the strategic road network and engages in enforcement and education activities,” she said.

Ms Lang arrived in the UAE in 2009 for a project on driver licencing. The project required her presence for a few weeks, but she came back in May 2011 and eventually went to work for TRL in Abu Dhabi.

Her interest in transport and road safety dates to the mid 1990s when a professor for traffic psychology approached her to offer a job as a research assistant on a field study about the impact of alcohol and drugs on driving. She continued to work at his department for interdisciplinary traffic sciences in driver impairment, road user education and older drivers. She then moved to England in 2005 where she worked for TRL.

Both specialists at TRL support the initiatives of the private sector, including Road Safety UAE's Make UAE Roads Safer and BMW's Stay Alive, Stay Alert campaign.

“Everyone has a role to play in promoting road safety, which is one of the biggest challenges facing the UAE,” Mr Labbett said. “The synergy of effort would be even better if we could fully engage private energy and investment with government policy.”

Ms Lang agreed.

“The private sector plays a very important role in spreading road safety messages and initiatives, where possible, should be integrated into road safety developments by government agencies,” she said.

“Highlighting the need for safe driving is a good start, and the skills of professional communications specialists or big brand names can be used to attract the attention of a large number of people for good safety messages.”