UAE's Accident-Free Day is a call to action

For many families in the UAE, this weekend will be the last one of the summer with school-age children at home. The new school year starts on Monday and with it comes more traffic , as buses and parents doing the school run rejoin the usual throng of commuters. With so many young people being ferried to school on the roads, it’s a fitting time to encourage safer driving . To that end, the Federal Traffic Council is urging motorists to sign an online pledge before Monday that will commit participating drivers to obeying speed limits, avoiding distractions and leaving a safe distance from other vehicles. This Accident-Free Day also offers drivers the chance to wipe four black points from their licences. It's part of the evolving road safety landscape in the UAE. The National ’s summer series on road safety has looked at the work being done to reduce accidents and mitigate their consequences. From Abu Dhabi Police and Adnoc Distribution launching a free summer inspection service to keep cars roadworthy to how UAE hospitals are improving emergency trauma care , the country continues to find innovative ways to improve road safety. And although there is no shortage of regulation – there are 143 federal traffic laws listed on the Dubai Police website that apply to all emirates – accidents and fatalities still take place. Ministry of Interior data showed an 11 per cent increase in road accidents last year, up to 4,391 from 3,945 in 2022. In those collisions 352 people lost their lives, up from 343 the year before. One death is too many. Therefore, Accident-Free Day is a call to action that appeals to a sense of personal responsibility. By signing the pledge, it is motorists who take the initiative. Doing so can break habitual behaviour; even experienced drivers can become complacent. Cocooned behind the steel and glass of modern vehicles, it is easy to lose sight of the inherent risk of controlling a car, bus or lorry at speeds in excess of 100kph. Having a designated day that relies on drivers voluntarily taking part can help shatter the illusion of invulnerability that too often results in distracted driving or risk taking. Many drivers, however, behave responsibly. This is something that has been acknowledged by police forces in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah where officers have rewarded safe drivers with cash prizes and certificates of merit. And in 2012, Dubai introduced a system that allowed motorists who avoided fines to accumulate “white points” to offset against penalties and black points, thereby incentivising more responsible driving. The Emirates continues to strive for better. In July, The National reported how the authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are using advanced software to collect and analyse crash data to identify and improve problematic stretches of road. But an international crossroads like the UAE will always face a particular challenge, given that it is home to motorists from many different countries with an array of driving styles and backgrounds. Overall, what everyone should be working towards is a scenario where every day is Accident-Free Day. Achieving this would be a feat for any country, but if this latest effort to prevent even one more crash is successful, it will have been worth it.