Campaign credited as pedestrian death toll plummets

DUBAI // The number of pedestrians killed on Dubai’s roads fell by almost half in the first six months of this year, transport officials said yesterday.
There were 25 fatalities, compared with 47 in the same period last year, the least number of pedestrian deaths since 2001. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) put the decrease down to its recent publicity campaigns, additional footbridges and more visible crossing points.
“Last year witnessed several field measures and joint awareness efforts to curb pedestrian accidents, which ranked among the most serious challenges facing traffic safety specialists,” said Maitha bin Udai, the chief executive of the Traffic and Roads Agency. There was a drop last year, too, from 60 deaths in the first half of 2008 – the highest figure recorded. The RTA said new laws and plans have helped, especially on Sheikh Zayed Road, where there have been only two deaths so far this year, compared with 12 in 2008.
The Metro may also have made a difference, with pedestrian bridges crossing busy highways at many stations. Sheikh Zayed Road alone has 10 stations with bridges. Contractors and consultants are also now required to provide a bus services for their workers to stop people from crossing busy motorways. Road layouts have been changed at seven known black spots. The result of this, said Ms bin Udai, was that the overall number of deaths from traffic accidents had dropped from 332 in 2007 to 294 cases in 2008 and to 225 last year.
There are 14 subways and 18 footbridges across Dubai and the RTA plans to double that number by 2013. There were also three campaigns to warn labourers of the danger of crossing roads. According to officials, that led to a 31 per cent decrease in pedestrian fatalities in Jebel Ali and Al Quoz. There were also campaigns in 74 schools. Peter Richardson, the general manager in charge of technical and operations at Emirates Driving Institute, said there had been a visible reduction in the number of people crossing busy highways.
“Compared to the past few years, it is rarely seen now,” he said. “Labour camps have always been an issue and there has been some great educational campaigns there. However, they have also reduced in size.” He added that fines for jaywalking and barriers placed across central reservations had also helped.
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