An Australian government department will be helping Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to revamp driving education in the UAE, Emirates Today has learned.
VicRoads, a corporation within the Victorian Government infrastructure portfolio, has been appointed as consultant to the Dubai authority's Licensing Department to help raise the standard of driving education here, an RTA official has said.
A state in Australia,Victoria has a population of five million people and there are currently 3.5 million licensed drivers in Victoria.
In 2004, the state recorded an accident death rate of 6.85 people per 100,000 people, which makes its roads among the safest in the world. In 2005, Dubai recorded 19.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
Safety experts have long pointed to a revamp of the current system, with statistics showing a large percentage of accidents in Dubai caused by people who obtained their licence less than three years ago. Would-be drivers also complain that getting a licence is a stressful and sometimes expensive procedure.
Statistics released in January by the RTA said less than a fifth of all people who took the driving exam that month, passed. While some industry experts put this down to students' nervousness and lack of experience, others said the low success rate reflects poorly on the whole driving education establishment and on the skills of instructors.
Taxis in a rush during the world cup
Servicing visitors to Dubai World Cup kept taxi drivers in the city quite busy, operators have said.
A staggering 13,500 trips were recorded between the race course in Nad Al Sheba and various parts of the city during 12 hours from March 31 and early April 1, the Roads and Transport Authority said in a statement. Between 2.30pm on the day of the races and 2am on April 1, there were 4,500 cars available to commuters - with a total of 6,130 cars registered in the city. This means some 75 per cent of Dubai's taxis were dedicated for the big day.
The vehicles were provided by state-owned Dubai Taxi company, as well as by the other four players in the market - National Taxi, Cars Taxi, Metro Taxi and Arabia Taxi.
Safety statistics
With a population of five million, the Australian state of Victoria saw 346 car accident deaths in 2005, according to data available on the official website of VicRoads.
During the same year, Dubai, which has about four times fewer residents, witnessed 236 traffic deaths.
The Australian state has one of the best safety records in the world with a crash death rate of 6.85 people per every 100,000 people recorded in 2004 compared with Dubai's 19.6 deaths per 100,000 people during 2005.
And while Dubai saw its worst year in terms of traffic deaths in 2006, the number of casualties has been going down in Victoria.
The rate of deaths per 10,000 vehicles in Victoria has fallen by 28 per cent, from 2001 to 2004.
Pedestrian safety has significantly increased with deaths falling from 81 in 2001, to 49 in 2004. The number of people seriously injured in crashes on Victoria's roads currently stands at its lowest since 1999.
New system
Victoria has a graduated licensing system, which means beginners would initially only be allowed on the road if supervised by others and would take months before being given a full licence.
In a move to reduce the number of crashes caused by novice drivers, the Victorian government has launched a new Graduated Licensing System, which will be implemented in three stages by July 2008.
Stage one, which started this year, introduced a tougher drink-driving law for young drivers. Those who have violated the law are only allowed back behind the wheel after installing an alcohol interlock in the vehicle they drive. The interlock prevents the car from starting if alcohol has been consumed by the driver. From July this year, learner drivers will need to obtain at least 120 hours of experience before they can apply for a probationary licence. There will also be tighter restrictions imposed on probationary drivers when driving high-powered cars.
By Vesela Todorova
© Emirates Today 2007
