Fall in road deaths leaves no room for complacency

The news that traffic deaths have fallen by 34 per cent over the past five years and that the number of serious accidents has been cut by nearly one quarter is a tribute to the determination of authorities to ensure that the UAE's roads are safer for all. There is no room for complacency, however. Every one of the 470 deaths on the roads last year is one too many. The toll of 3,712 serious accidents, too, is a reminder that much remains to be done.

Today, the UAE has one of the best road safety records in the region, thanks to a range of initiatives, from upgraded traffic control measures and improved road surfaces to new speed restrictions, a points system for reckless drivers and the enforcement of seatbelt laws. But the authorities can only do so much. Ultimately, the responsibility for remaining safe on the roads falls on the driver. The leading and wholly avoidable causes of accidents include tailgating, failure to indicate and erratic lane discipline. It also pays not to neglect car maintenance. Last year burst tyres were the cause of 100 deaths and more than 1,100 injuries. Falling asleep at the wheel can also make drivers a hazard to themselves and others, a problem young Emirati entrepreneurs Ahmed Al Mansouri and Khaled Al Dhaheri hope to counter after inventing a potentially life-saving app to alert drivers when they are in danger of drifting off.

More must be done to educate drivers, especially the young. Research by the organisation RoadSafetyUAE has revealed shocking attitudes among 18 to 24-year-olds, whose death rates are more than double those of older drivers. Alarmingly, one in four regards the use of indicators as “a sign of inexperience”. Only 70 per cent were aware of seatbelt laws and one in five thought they did not need them.

Today the roads of the UAE are safer than they have ever been. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that tomorrow they will be safer still, and that countless thousands are spared the horror of losing a loved one.