Wednesday, Apr 26, 2017

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has the world’s best road quality, but could do better on road safety and traffic congestion, members of the Federal National Council told the government on Wednesday.

Members of the House asked how the UAE — a world leader in road building — could have big number of road accident-related fatalities and highly congested roads.

A report prepared by the House’s Public Utilities Committee showed that traffic congestion exacerbated due to the population growth (9.16 million people in 2015), which caused 725 deaths in 2016, 675 in 2015 and 712 in 2014.

On a scale of one to seven, with countries scoring one having extremely underdeveloped roads to those scoring seven with highly efficient roads, the UAE scored 6.5, ahead of Singapore, Portugal and Oman in the top five, according to a study published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, one of the UK’s leading economic consultants.

The 2015 World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Road Safety — based on data from 2013 — showed that there were 10.9 deaths per 100,000 motorists in the UAE.

“In 2008, the number of traffic deaths per 100,000 people was more than 20, and in the 2013 report, this number was 12.7, and in the 2015 status report, it was 10.9, so we see a clear downward trend,” Dr Abdullah Mohammad Bel Haif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, told the House. Road fatalities were caused by reckless drivers and not because of the quality of roads.

“The main causes of road accidents are recklessness and not paying attention, sudden swerving, failing to leave a safe distance between vehicles and driving through red lights,” said Al Nuaimi, who also heads the Federal Transport Authority.

Statistics also showed that almost half of the traffic accidents was caused by drivers aged between 18 and 30, who were speeding, using phones behind the wheel and not keeping a safe distance between cars.

The minister said there are 5.5 deaths on the UAE’s roads per 100,000 people, and the aim is to reduce that to three per 100,000 by 2021.

Logistics sector

The members of the House demanded that more efforts be exerted to achieve better ranks on the logistics performance index issued by the World Bank once every two years.

Al Nuaimi said the UAE made a big jump — from 27th rank globally to 14th globally and is the first in the Arab region, which, he said, reflects the growth and development witnessed in the logistics sector.

This index measures the quality of infrastructure support for logistics based on a global survey of six perspectives, including the effectiveness of border and customs management in terms of simplicity and speed, and the quality of trade and transport infrastructure. It also includes the ease of shipping at competitive prices, the efficiency and quality of logistics services, the ability to track and trace cargo, and the arrival of cargo to destinations on time.

The minister said the logistics is one of the most vital sectors in the UAE, especially in the light of the UAE’s strategic geographic location as a main trade hub, and due to its economic diversification and the significant developments in transport and the efficient implementation of the latest innovative technologies.

GCC rail

Members of the council pressed for fast-tracking the GCC rail network and developing the public transport systems across the emirates.

“Our part has been completed as Etihad Rail, which is developing the country’s Dh40-billion, 1,200-kilometre rail network, has completed the first stage of 266km of the line,” Al Nuaimi told the House.

The 628km second stage is planned to link Khalifa and Jebel Ali ports to the Saudi border at Ghuweifat and the Omani border in Al Ain.

But the deadline for the GCC rail network has been moved back three years to 2021.

By Samir Salama Associate Editor

Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.