Tackling cabbie fatigue is in the interests of all

Rather than complain about the driving of fatigued cabbies, Ayesha Almazroui argues we should address the underlying cause of their excessively long working hours.

Should safety tips from the aviation industry be adopted for the UAE taxi drivers? Ravindranath K / The National

Taxi users often notice how exhausted their drivers seem to be, with some so tired and stressed that they are unable to concentrate on the road. Regular drivers (including myself) frequently encounter dangerous driving by taxi drivers, some of whom will spot a potential customer and suddenly change lanes and slam on the brakes, without having checked their mirrors for traffic.

In Abu Dhabi, a manager at a taxi company told The National last year that up to 150 taxi drivers were fired each month for traffic infringements such as running red or amber lights. While firing them may help deter some reckless cabbies, it does not solve the underlying problem.

Most of these drivers are not deliberately careless but are simply victims of the circumstances of their job. They have to meet their companies’ revenue target and failing to do so often means a reduction in their monthly salary.

According to reports in The National, taxi drivers sometimes have to work up to 15 hours a day to meet their daily target. One taxi driver, Atif Mujeeb, told this newspaper that his company increased the daily target six months ago from Dh300 to Dh550 in fares, leading him and others to work extra hours to meet their new target and secure their full monthly pay. With increased numbers of taxis plying the streets of the capital, meeting the target has become harder than ever.

The UAE’s labour law states that workers must not work for more than eight hours a day, with a maximum of two hours of paid overtime work. However, companies seem to be using the commission system to get around the law and exploit helpless drivers.

Many of them work every single day of the month. All some ask is two days off each month to recover from the mental and physical stress of the job.

Some of them even reported that they had developed health problems from the prolonged sitting that their job entails. This is thought to slow the metabolism, affecting the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat.

As one Bangladeshi taxi driver with Dubai Taxi Corporation put it: “Poor people like me have no choice. We have to work like this.”

This state of affairs does not only affect the well-being of taxi drivers but also endangers everyone who shares the roads with them. The mental stress and anxiety to meet their income targets obviously affects the drivers’ performance and leads to dangerous driving.

Taxi companies contend that they act when informed of individual cabbie’s unsafe driving. While companies may impose fines on errant drivers in response to complaints from members of the public, this is not a proper solution to decreasing the incidence of traffic violations. Just as with firing a driver, this too fails to address the underlying problem.

But how to address such a complex situation? Aviation safety standards may be a good model.

Since the 1944 Chicago Convention, it has been recognised that pilot fatigue from long working hours and insufficient chances to rest posed a high risk to safety. As a result, governments and airline companies have worked on reducing the risk by limiting the maximum number of duty hours for pilots.

Within the European Union for example, tackling the risk came at two levels: EU-wide rules and company level regulations. Unified Flight and Duty Time Limitations (FTL) rules have been made mandatory across Europe since July 2008. These impose limits on duty time and rest requirements for commercial air transport.

Companies have also introduced Collective Labour Agreements and/or Fatigue Risk Management Systems to improve airline safety. The UAE taxi system could benefit from similar standards.

One step has already been taken. In Dubai, as we have reported, the Roads and Transport Authority said that it would review working conditions for taxi drivers following reports that they were working dangerously long hours. This ought to be adopted by transport authorities across the UAE.

While this could be a first step, perhaps the UAE needs a single federal regulation for taxi drivers, putting all seven emirates in line with best practice for safety in terms of maximum working hours and minimum rest periods.

It is best for taxi companies to discharge their responsibility for the well-being of their drivers. But if they fail to do so, the government ought to intervene to stop exploitation and to ensure public safety.

@AyeshaAlmazroui