GULF-TRANSPORT: Traffic Accidents Abound in Land of Plenty

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Ahmad Mardini

ABU DHABI, Sep 28 1995 (IPS) - Petrodollars, fast cars and lavish lifestyles have all combined to bestow the United Arab Emirates with the dubious distinction of having one of the highest death rates due to road accidents in the world.

Traffic officials say some 2,985 people were killed in road accidents in the past five years which resulted in serious economic and social adjustment problems for a number of affected families.

In 1994 alone, there were more than 600 deaths in road accidents, over 6,000 injuries and nearly 16,000 car accidents in a land of only two million people.

And this despite the fact that there are innumerable speed breakers installed on UAE roads and driving tests are so tough that they can take years to pass for an average citizen.

The Director of the UAE Accidents Committee, Lt. Colonel A Abdullah says, unfortunately, the country has not been able to bring this dangerous phenomenon under control.

“We need more action, more efforts from all sectors — information, parents, clubs and police,” he adds.

The world accident ratio is 80 deaths to every one million people while, in the UAE, the ratio is a little over 290 deaths per million.

Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the seven Emirates that constitute the UAE, tops in the number of fatal accidents in the country. The victims are mostly from the 16 to 25 age group and many of them are youth, some immigrants, who travel to different Emirates for work.

The high accident rates have spurred traffic authorities to crackdown on legions of reckless drivers in the oil-rich country. A number of deterrent measures have been taken to bring down the accident rates.

Last month, two youths were caned 30 times each in front of a crowd of 2,000 people at the very spot on which they caused a fatal accident by their reckless driving.

Says Major Ghaith Al-Zaabi of the Abu Dhabi traffic police, the new campaign is the latest in a series being conducted by the police to ensure the safety of all road users.

Police officers warn that errant motorists caught in the campaign will be subjected to strict penalties and fines.

They say that most of the people who cause accidents by jumping lights or speeding are bored and idle young men, mostly UAE nationals rather than immigrants who make up a sizable chunk of the country’s population.

These young men are armed with powerful cars, oil money and a lot of spare time which they spend cruising the roads at breakneck speed.

Scores of young men in flowing white robes with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on a mobile phone, driving sleek limousines and thunderous four-wheel drive vehicles are a common sight in the country.

Sociologists say the UAE’s simple Bedouin communities have been totally transformed by the petrodollars resulting from the oil boom in the 1970s.

Flush with cash, they have embarked on a culture of conspicuous consumption where possessing and flaunting the latest and best, whether they be cars or new-fangled electronic gadgetry, is all.

Bored and idle because most of them do not have to work for their living, the young men seek to derive thrills from racing their sleek automobiles.

They are joined in their activities by some foreigners who come to the UAE as tourists to have a good time. The crackdown on reckless driving has netted both these kind of offenders, authorities say.

The traffic authorities have been delivering weekly lectures on safety norms to hundreds of teenagers and bus and taxi drivers under the aegis of the current drive. Motorist who seem unfit for the roads have been subjected to psychological tests to determine if they are indeed eligible to drive.

The authorities have been trying to drive home the point that causing a major accident is punishable with upto three years behind bars plus the payment of 40,000 dollars in blood money for the victim’s family.

The Abu Dhabi police has also warned truck drivers and owners to observe a ban on parking trucks and pick-ups within the city limits. The ban was introduced almost a year ago to eliminate the traffic accidents and jams caused by these vehicles.

Earlier this year, a little Egyptian girl lost both legs and a classmate almost faced the same fate after their school bus rammed into a pick-up truck parked on the side of the street without the hazard signals being turned on.