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Dubai: Driving schools should revise their syllabus and educate students about road etiquette, said a trainer.
Adam Kechil, an advance driving trainer, said the main reason for traffic accidents is bad driving and lack of road manners. He said safe driving depends on a driver's ability to observe, evaluate and decide and he should be in good shape - physical and psychological - while driving to ensure that he is able concentrate fully on driving.
"But this is lacking in most of the drivers because they are not taught these small but important things while undergoing training at driving schools here," he said.
He suggested that driving schools should revise their syllabus to keep up with the current driving needs in Dubai and should also educate trainee drivers about 'road manners'.
"They need to be educated on the consequences of bad driving," Kechil said.
According to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) statistics, people from 165 nationalities have obtained driving licences from Dubai.
Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, recently said: "Some people take pleasure in violating traffic rules causing risks to lives of motorists. We are developing plans to educate them."
The RTA also last year changed the driver's testing procedure. Now the driving schools train the drivers but RTA officials conduct tests to ensure that drivers are well trained.
Saif Ahmad Bel Hasa, Chairman of Belhasa Driving Institute, dispelled the impression that driving schools are not providing proper training.
"Big institutes like ours have proper training system for drivers. We train the drivers and the RTA tests them. They are allowed to drive only after RTA passes them," he said.
Attitude
Bel Hasa said each driver has a different attitude towards driving. "They come from different cultures and with different driving habits but we try our best to train them to suit Dubai standards," he said.
He said it is the responsibility of the authorities to take action against drivers with bad driving habits to curb this problem.
A traffic expert at the RTA said most motorists in Dubai do not keep a safe distance between vehicles, drive aggressively, show no tolerance and do not take into consideration other road users.
"The key to improve driving behaviour is education and training, starting with schoolchildren. We are concentrating on this issue," he said.
- With inputs from Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter
Accident: Motorist runs down pedestrian on highway
An unidentified man was killed and another man sustained injuries in an accident on Shaikh Zayed Road early yesterday morning. Police said W.A., a 33-year-old Arab driver, was speeding near the last Emarat Petrol Station enroute Abu Dhabi when he was surprised by two men trying to cross the road from an undesignated area. The driver ran over them. One of them was killed, while the other man, S.R., sustained moderate injuries.
- Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter
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