Drive safely to arrive faster

In Dubai, 'journey' has ceased to be an appropriate synonym for the activity of driving. Here, driving seems to have a special status - that of an experience - an experience to be forgotten, it seems.

The question is: can it be forgotten? A few days ago, a man was beaten to death during a parking scuffle. A woman nearly found herself in a pile-up, when an obnoxious driver stopped his car abruptly on the highway to shout abuse at the woman, after she honked at him for not indicating when changing lanes.

An anecdote that feels particularly dangerous comes from Professor Jusri Devries from the American University of Dubai (AUD). A few weeks ago, he found himself driving on a road in the direction opposite to which the arrows were facing. Upon trying to turn around, he found that other cars were driving in the same direction. Confused, he pulled over to the hard shoulder. Turns out, the construction company had forgotten to repaint the arrows after finishing with the work.

With traffic and accidents on the rise, and Shaikh Zayed Road being named 'the deadliest road in Dubai', we hit some campuses to find out how some of the most affected people (most students located on the AUD and Knowledge Village Campuses have to use Shaikh Zayed Road to get to school) feel about driving in Dubai today.

A particularly provocative (some may say controversial) opinion was that of Chris Oughourlian, a management major at AUD 'The worst drivers in the world are in the U.A.E. and the worst drivers in the UAE are in this university.' With Farkad Al Sabri telling us about a fellow student whose parents bought him a Ferrari after he wrecked his BMW, this is not a surprising opinion. Most other opinions, however, were targeted at the general driving population in Dubai rather than specifics.

Road safety

Complaints about road safety and etiquette abounded, the most prevalent ones being about: cutting queues, failure to signal and lane weaving.

Apart from the obvious increase in the number of cars on the road, what could be behind the recent road chaos? A prevailing theory held by students and even the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), was the 'multiculturalism theory'.

In today's world, the absence of globalisation is a virtue to be extolled, but not when it comes to driving, apparently. The particular brand of multiculturalism that exists in Dubai, which consists of mainly first generation or transient immigrants, means that most cultures maintain their traditions and mindset very strongly.

Included in these varying mindsets, are the unwritten rules of etiquette surrounding driving that tend to vary from country to country, not to mention the written laws that make up driving systems. When so many different perspectives meet on the road, confusion is almost a guarantee. An astute observation from professor. Devries was that many expatriates simply convert foreign licences into local ones without know knowing the traffic rules in Dubai. The danger in this practice was illustrated by an accident caused by an Egyptian man who did not know how to navigate a round about, as they don't exist in Egypt.

People also seemed to agree that using a mobile while driving, speeding and sudden braking, were culprits in causing accidents.

One of the strategies being used by the RTA to cope with these problems,seems to be a 'creating space' strategy. With the widening of Garhoud Bridge and Emirates Road underway, not to mention many already widened intersections and roundabouts, it seems they may be onto something. The only question is: how long will it take for the results to manifest?

Other problems

Traffic, accidents and lack of etiquette are not the only problems encountered on the roads here. Another prevalent issue is that of parking. As mentioned above the number of cars on the road is rising, so it is obvious there will be a need for more parking spaces. While the RTA is currently increasing parking spaces in Jumeirah, this does not seem to be enough. A larger scale intervention is needed, not only for the short term, but also for the long term.

Nevertheless, credit must be given to the authority, especially for its vision and speed in constructing the Dubai Metro, and its efforts to increase the capacity of the roads not just by widening them but also by building new ones, in a matter of months. Short term measures, taken by the RTA to ease congestion in the areas of Bur Dubai and Deira include the water buses that now service five routes along the creek.

Solutions

As if that isn't promising enough, there is more hope on the horizon. The call for more police on the roads, not only by the general population but also by the RTA, has finally been heeded, with the police launching a traffic safety campaign, hoping to stringently enforce laws, last Sunday. However, for now it will mainly focus on trucks and buses.

In addition to the action being taken our readers also suggested ensuring that new buildings have a car park before granting planning permission, building multi-storey paid car parks at various locations so parking is easy to find and does not contribute to the traffic problem. A surprising suggestion considering the source was of increasing the age at which one may apply for a licence to reduce rash driving.

To reduce speeding, a request to stop waiving the fines on those with connections was made. Daniel Liss, an audio engineering major at the School of Audio Engineering, pointed out that the magnitude of construction simultaneously underway was the cause for many detours and therefore increased traffic, suggesting that traffic could be reduced, by starting new projects after the completion of current ones.

For now the predominant sentiment remains one of not feeling safe on the roads, but with the majority of people claiming to contribute to road safety the discrepancy is confusing. As a clever student from AUD said 'Its obvious, treat others on the road like you would want to be treated. Follow your own advice.'

Champion driver

Champion driver Mohammad Bin Sulayem described driving in Dubai as a "frustrating and aggravating experience." He attributed the country's terrible driving manners to the many driving cultures in the region.

"The UAE is a country holding residents from diverse cultural backgrounds. Dubai alone holds people of 205 different ethnicities," he said. "Each of these backgrounds also holds its own driving culture. When everyone wants to forcefully impose their own standard of driving ethics, this is what happens."

Emphasising that the blend of "driving cultures" has created messy scenes on the roads, Sulayem said that residents should be forced to learn the prime languages of the country - English and Arabic, prior to being given a chance at a driving licence.

"When you go to the US or England, you cannot obtain a licence if you are unable to read a single word of English," he said. "Driving requires the ability to read signs and that requires literacy of the country's main languages. However, when half the population can speak neither language and is unwilling to learn, you have many clueless drivers roaming the streets."

Bin Sulayem highlighted two crucial factors to improving the driving situation in the UAE - awareness and consequences.

"Residents should be made aware of the requirements of obtaining a driver's licence, and more importantly, these requirements must be consistent," he said. "Drivers must be thoroughly educated about driving etiquette."

Punishment, he added, is another essential factor.

"If people are driving around seeing that these laws aren't being strictly enforced, it will only encourage them to continue breaking road rules," he said. "Students, naturally, are risk takers. They often think they can get away with anything - laws should be enforced so that students realise the existing consequences and should also be educated about lives that have been drastically changed as the result of careless driving."

When the road conditions seem horrifying to a champion driver, that's when you know things are bad.

"There are some days I'm under house arrest simply because of the stress of driving," Bin Sulayem said. "I think to myself maybe it's easier and healthier if I just stay at home."