Editorial: Road to safe driving Friday, 27 January 2012 05:32

Amid traffic safety awareness messages staring at drivers from billboards and lamp posts, life for a motorist in Qatar remains perilous. Traffic rules and conventions, courtesy the rogue driver, take a bumpy ride. Though authorities keep urging motorists to follow traffic rules and keep the interest of fellow motorists in mind, one hardly comes across good road-user behaviour on the roads of the country.

With a sharp rise in vehicle numbers and a rapidly growing population, the issue of road safety has come all the more under focus. Authorities have a job to do as far as road safety and inculcating good road-user behaviour in the population is concerned.

Traffic safety experts say that efficient road design, proper training of drivers, and efficient vehicle maintenance are key to a good traffic safety record.

Traffic accidents are a reality across the world and no society is free of fluctuating safety statistics. Accidents might come down because of strict implementation of fines but behaviour of motorists on the road that does not lend itself to scrutiny is hard to quantify. The behaviour of rogue motorists is only to be suffered by fellow drivers and often goes unnoticed by the authorities. Changing lanes abruptly, tailgating, screaming at fellow motorists, honking incessantly to give vent to road rage are a few instances when it becomes hard for decent ones at the wheel to keep their cool. The problem aggravates as weekend draws near and youngsters try to let their hair down — at the wheel. It is not rare to see quad bikes whiz past at crowded intersections in the heart of the city, or a biker do a derring-do on an arterial road, or the ubiquitous Land Cruiser mount a footpath that seems insurmountable for a sedan.

Authorities have been trying to promote cycling as a way to a healthy lifestyle. But with the kind of road-user behaviour one has got used to, it would be hard for many to take to the pedal.

Road safety is a complex issue. Research has proved that it depends as much on factors external to the driver as on his own mental make-up. Experts also link traffic safety to socio-economic and deomographic indicators.

Risisng stress levels in the population is another factor affecting safety on the carriageway. And stress levels of law-abiding drivers are certainly raised by rogue ones on the road.

Authorities need to realise that a sustained effort to deepen research in traffic safety would go a long way in making the life of motorists safe and easier. By bringing in new paradigms in such research, the country would set a new example for others to follow.