Dead Wrong?

Since I had been away for awhile I decided to check in with the local rag trade to see what doings were a transpiring in Dubai lately. For a while there it seemed that cycle-related stories were popping up left and right, but no such luck these days. Perhaps they should do a story on me, that crazy white dude riding a bike to work!

There was some interesting streets-related news though. Both the National and Gulf News had stories on the recently released World Heath Organization (WHO) study: Global Status Report on Road Safety.

WHO?

It seems (to no-one’s surprise) that the UAE is ranked quite poorly with a whopping 37 deaths per 100,000 rating (PHT). That is, each year 37 out of every 100,000 people in the country die in vehicle related crashes. Compared to other countries ranked in the high-income category (i.e. developed countries), the UAE has THE worst fatality rate.


In the high income category (where one would expect well designed roads, safe vehicles and traffic enforcement) The next closest is Saudi Arabia, which comes in at 29 PHT, followed by Qatar at 23.7 PHT. After that it drops down to 21.7 in the British Virgin Islands (which is probably skewed since there are only 23,000 residents and 5 fatalities) and then down to 16.9 PHT in Kuwait. There appears to be some sort of death wish going on in the Gulf States.

So who is WORSE than the UAE? Only 7 countries on earth rate that distinction, and none of them have a per capita income anywhere near the UAE.

Eritrea, 48.4 PHT, $230 per capita income (PCI)
Cook Islands, 45 PHT*, $13,098 PCI
Egypt, 41.6 PHT, $1580 PCI
Afghanistan, 39 PHT, $319 PCI
Iraq, 38.1 PHT, $1646 PCI
Angola, 37.7 PHT, $2560 PCI
Niger, 37.7 PHT, $280 PCI

So, lets see here; we have Eritrea, 6th poorest nation on earth, the cook islands (probably another anomaly due to low population, they had only 6 deaths), Egypt – a known driving crazytown, two war zones (Iraq and Afganistan), and two former war zones (Angola and Niger). Why is the UAE ranking up there with failed states? Look at the road infrastructure – brand spanking new, built to international standards. There is an operational police force who just last month handed out 107,000 traffic fines in Dubai alone!

Compare the UAE’s rate with other nations who have a similar per capita income, like say the USA, where there is a similar highway and car culture, but only 13.9 PHT, or the UK, with a startlingly low 5.4! The UK rate may be somewhat attributed to greater transit use, but the US has a similarly low percentage of transit users, and as far as I know the UAE uses the exact same AASHTO highway design standards. So why is the fatality rate in the UAE nearly 3 times higher?

So where does the blame lie? I would put in squarely at the feet of motorists. Just this morning on the way to work I had someone pass me at well over 100kph in a residential neighborhood side street with a 40 kph speed limit. What exactly is the point of that? Where do these people need to be in such a huge hurry? I am sure they aren’t keeping the same pace after leaving their cars. I have yet to see anyone dashing out the drivers door and sprinting down the street to their destination.

Of course its not just speed, anyone who has driven from Dubai to Abu Dhabi can tell you people completely lose their heads once they leave the city; weaving in and out of traffic at high speed, tailgating within inches of your bumper and flashing the brights if you don’t get out of the way – complete chaos!

The sad thing is people take it as some sort of given, as though driver behavior here is willed by God or something. The recent moves by Dubai to add more (as well as new and improved) speed cameras are a good first step, as are the speed-table crosswalks I have seen popping up around Bur Dubai. But these measures are too few and too far between. Dubai seems to have built itself into a corner here. They have enabled a culture of fast and reckless driving and now they are paying the price.

Its not just motorists who are affected either, a full 28% of fatalities are pedestrians – over 250 people a year! I am sure many of these deaths can be attributed to the complete and utter lack of convenient road crossings. Its as though the planners completely forgot that people have legs and just assumed everyone would naturally drive everywhere.

The Death Pie

Lets hope the government sees this report as a wake up call. Do you suppose a nation can be shamed into action?