Coronavirus: Pandemic could lead to more serious accidents on UAE roads, expert says

Drivers are picking up bad habits because of reduced traffic congestion, conference hears

A fall in congestion due to Covid-19 safety measures could impact road safety. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Covid-19 outbreak could increase the severity of crashes both in the UAE and globally, one of the region’s leading transport experts has warned.

Martin Tillman, director of global and architecture company Aecom, said the pandemic could lead to fewer accidents but more fatal ones.

He attributed the phenomenon to vehicles travelling at higher speeds because of reduced levels of congestion thanks to stay-home measures and remote working.

“There is anecdotal evidence emerging to suggest that the severity of crashes will actually increase in the pandemic,” said Mr Tillman

He was speaking at an online webinar held to promote a traffic and transport week, which is being organised by Gulf Traffic in December.

It heard of the huge changes wrought on the transport sector over the past few months and of the difficulties around the country's schools because so many parents are dropping their children off instead of using buses.

Firstly, Mr Tillman said the onset of Covid-19 had seen a rise in the number of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads, hoping to take advantage of the reduced rate of traffic which had created “unforeseen consequences”.

“More cyclists and pedestrians means there are more vulnerable users on the roads than ever before,” said Mr Tillman.

He said this was despite evidence of a 50 per cent reduction in the number of road accidents.

Mr Tillman said global attempts to use the pandemic as an opportunity to transform cities into pedestrian and cyclist havens needed to address those safety concerns.

He said that one of the key goals for many cities was to create an environment where cyclists could travel from any one point to another within 20 minutes.

This would be challenging, he added, until cyclists were able to feel safe on the roads.

He pointed to a recent study, which his company had overseen, in Dubai asking cyclists what was stopping them from taking to local roads.

“I thought the number one reason would be the heat but it wasn’t even in the top five,” he said.

“They were more concerned about their safety and security.”

Authorities in the UAE have already taken a number of measures to alleviate road traffic issues, made possible by the impact of Covid-19.

Last month a decision was made to allow government workers in Dubai to choose flexible working hours.

Road safety experts predicted this would go a long way to help making the typical rush hour traffic a thing of the past.

Mr Tillman also said schools across the world were considering adopting a more flexible working pattern, allowing students to start classes at different times of the day, which would help ease traffic flow during peak hours.

This was backed up by a recent Unicef – the UN's children's body – report recommending “staggering the start and close of the school day”.

The webinar also heard how the pandemic had resulted in traffic issues outside schools because of social-distancing measures on public transport.

“More parents than before are dropping their children directly to the gates of schools,” said Steve Burnell, managing director of School Transport Services, who is responsible for overseeing a fleet of more than 2,500 school buses in the UAE.

“Schools are not designed to cope with children only arriving in cars and it is creating issues.

“We need to rebuild trust in public transport not least because so many rely on it, especially in the suburbs.”

He also warned that drivers were becoming complacent due to reduced traffic on roads, which could have devastating consequences if normal service resumes.

“There is a noticeable increase in people picking up bad habits like using their phones while driving,” he said.

“This could lead to more accidents once traffic volumes build up again.”