Safety expert advocates federal highway code

Road safety experts believe a federal highway code and an influential leader are essential for a sustainable change in road safety in the UAE.

An official highway code in the UAE would provide necessary guidance, says Simon Labbett, seen here with fellow Transport Research Laboratory expert Britta Lang. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // A federal highway code to set clear standards for road users, and a political advocate, are essential for the UAE to achieve a sustainable change in road safety, said Simon Labbett, regional director for the Transport Research Laboratory, a UK-based consultancy.

A mix of nationalities and cultures with different driving styles populates the road network of all Arabian Gulf countries, which face rapidly growing motorisation levels and a high population turnover.

“What you need to establish are standards,” Mr Labbett said. “What driving behaviour do you have? When you come in the country, are you told how to drive on the road or do you adopt the driving standard from the country that you came from?

“So it’s very important for the federal government to establish what we would call a highway or road code. It’s not only a form of legislation but the advice and guidance of behaviour of road users that is underpinned in law.”

The UAE’s Federal Traffic Law No 21 of 1995 governs traffic and regulates vehicles.

In April, the Federal Traffic Council proposed a raft of measures that included banning sunglasses while driving at night, putting on makeup while driving or texting behind the wheel.

“The advice and guidance may not be law in itself, but failure to comply with the advice and guidance may make the courts hold the driver responsible,” Mr Labbett said.

“For example, there is careless driving but you can’t specify in law what is careless. Failure to look in your mirrors could be careless depending on what the consequences are, failing to indicate and changing lanes may be careless.”

An official highway code would provide the necessary guidance, he said.

“A federal highway code creates uniform minimum standards for vehicle operations and enforcement,” said Glenn Havinoviski, a transport expert in Abu Dhabi. “It would eliminate inconsistencies in the treatment of laws and regulations between the different emirates.”

Regulations for mandatory child seats, seat-belt regulations, window tinting and speed enforcement should be uniform across the country.

Salaheddine Bendak, an associate professor at the University of Sharjah, agreed. “Such a unified code will minimise confusion due to the different codes that exist in each emirate,” he said. “It will also be easier to educate the public on it.”

Effective lobbying by leading and influential political figures could raise the profile of road safety.

“Somewhere along the line, you need someone who’s going to take responsibility,” Mr Labbett said.

“Ideally, he’s someone who is independent of a delivery or an organisation. If we are looking at a significant change here, I would be looking for the President, Sheikh Khalifa, or Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who will be speaking on a federal basis and has great vision.”

Dr Bendak said public safety campaigns in the West were usually championed by a beloved public figure. “People in general imitate leaders and public figures,” he said. “

The champion needs to be somebody people respect and love and is not necessarily thought of as police, Mr Havinoviski said. “It needs to be someone who is willing to spend time, in person, to promote road safety with the same enthusiasm given to other initiatives in the UAE.”

In January, Dr Abdullilah Zineddin, a road-safety expert, said commitment to enhance road safety should come at the highest government levels. He would like to see top officials become more involved in road safety, particularly with speaking directly to the public.

“It would be great to see famous Rulers such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid or Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed talking about road safety and encouraging young drivers to slow down,” he said.