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Road safety to be taught in schools

Addressing a gathering at the two-day Second International Conference on Traffic Safety titled ‘Traffic Safety Without Borders 2006’ that kicked off at Shangrila Hotel yesterday, Dr Obeid Butti Al Muhairi, Director for Curriculum and Instruction, Material Developments Centre, MoE, said the blueprint for the course will be ready by the end of this year and it will be introduced in all public and private schools by next year.

“There are two phases to be taken care of regarding this issue,” he said. “The material for the subjects will either be provided separately or integrated in the school textbooks.”

He also said in private schools, the topics will be integrated with compulsory subjects such as Arabic, Islamiyat and social studies. “This will help create awareness among children about the subject from a younger age,” added Dr Al Muhairi.

Policemen will be visiting schools to spread awareness among students, according to the MoE official.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), told mediapersons that driving rules would be made tougher. “Driving schools are not up to the mark while the biggest problem lies in drivers’ behaviour. We have people belonging to over 120 nationalities and cultures and each of them shows a different driving attitude.”

He stressed public awareness needed to be increased and hence, the authorities planned to include road safety as part of the school curriculum.

Earlier, Al Tayer said, “According to statistics, the total number of traffic accidents that occurred on Dubai roads during the first nine months of this year is 1,339.

Around 215 people died in road mishaps.

Of them, 22 were UAE nationals, giving us an average of 30 deaths per 100,000 citizens.

The overall average of traffic accidents mortality is 19.7 per 100,000 of the population, which is alarming because the rate of deaths in traffic in developed countries such as Sweden, Britain and Germany ranges between 5 and 8 deaths per 100,000 of the population.”

He also said the RTA’s strategy to improve transport safety focuses on a few key areas including influencing the behaviour of road users through increased awareness, implementation of laws and laying down regulations regarding drivers’ licence.

Eng Maitha Mohammad Bin Adai, CEO, Traffic and Roads Agency, RTA, said, “The road network is a corner stone in the economic and social viability of Dubai and the dependence on road transportation is not showing any signs of abating.

“The increasing rate of car ownership has been a direct result of a fast growing economy and the increase in population. The Government of Dubai has invested, and continues to invest heavily, in the road infrastructure to provide a world class road network.”

“However, the number of car accidents that result in fatalities and injuries has been rising at an alarming rate,” she added.

“We are currently in the process of developing a Road Safety Audit Manual suitable for the conditions in Dubai.”

“We also have an elaborate black spot treatment programme that aims at reducing the risk of road crashes in our existing road network,” she said.

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