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Zero road deaths by 2030

The Directorate of Traffic and Patrols at Abu Dhabi Police is developing an integrated traffic safety system in a bid to achieve a goal of zero road fatalities by 2030.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, Traffic and Patrols Director Brigadier Hussein Ahmed Al Harthi said there has already been remarkable progress in traffic safety indicators in Abu Dhabi in 2012, compared to 2011 figures, which reflects the successful efforts and plans adopted by the Directorate to achieve the goals of the ‘Zero Fatalities Vision 2030’.

“Traffic safety tops government priorities globally, and we, at the Directorate, were keen to launch promising initiatives and programmes that contribute to developing traffic safety and maintaining our human wealth, in line with our esteemed leadership,” he said.

The official further pointed out that in 2012, traffic accidents saw a reduction of 10 per cent, with a further reduction in deaths (19 per cent), and run-over deaths (14 per cent) inspite of an increase in vehicles (six per cent) and registered drivers (eight per cent).

Al Harthi also said what has been achieved in terms of improvement in traffic safety levels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi compared with the global rates, was a major achievement.

Showcasing the achievements for 2010–2012, he pointed out an improvement in traffic safety over the past three years, highlighting the reduction of injuries of traffic accidents of 33 per cent, deaths (34 per cent), critical injuries (25 per cent) and UAE nationals’ deaths (17 per cent).

The traffic chief further noted that the death rate per 100,000 inhabitants of the population dropped by 35 per cent, with per 10,000 vehicles registered in Abu Dhabi going down by 46 per cent, and per 10,000 driving licence holders by 50 per cent: “This indicates that improvements reflect the positive effect of the ambitious plan prepared in 2010 to improve traffic safety,” he said.

He further added in 2012 the increase of traffic accidents due to jumping a red light was 22 per cent, and accidents caused by not leaving a safe distance between vehicles was 11 per cent.

“The death rate among UAE citizens was four per cent and the percentage of those causing accidents, amongst those with 3-5 years of driving experience, was lifted by 25 per cent,” he added, while stressing on the preparation of plans and programmes that will contribute to the fading out of these causes during 2013.

Referring to local, regional and global traffic accidents, he said road accidents cause the deaths of about a million and half people, injuring and handicapping more than 50 million persons per year, as well as costing the world economy US$520 billion annually.

Al Harthi also referred to the statistics of traffic accidents in the Arab World, reaching about half a million accidents annually with almost 400,000 injured and more than 36,000 deaths.

Speaking about this ambitious plan, he pointed out that this initiative was based on various key pillars, including continuous follow ups on the best global practices, optimum use for geographic information systems (GIS), employing software and artificial intelligence systems to support decision-making and the development of human resources.

The official further explained: “The Smart Traffic System Centre and Traffic Safety Status System launched earlier this year are the first of their kind around the globe,” pledging that the Directorate was keen to develop its human resources to do their job efficiently and deal with future challenges professionally.

“The current edition of the Gulf Traffic Week ‘Your Safety Is Our Aim’ will witness the launch of four promising initiatives to achieve our vision to tackle the traffic accidents, by targeting different categories of society and motivate them to take responsibility in regards to the traffic safety issues.”

Al Harthi said that the Directorate has started to implement 20 traffic programmes since the beginning of 2013 to raise awareness about traffic safety issues, among the different segments of the society, in order to improve the behaviour of road users and to increase public education and awareness.

nissar@khaleejtimes.com