UAE can be world’s best in road safety: WHO

Abu Dhabi – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has all the potential to be the best country in the world in road safety or at least among the top five, said a senior official of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Etienne Krug, director of WHO’s department of violence and injury prevention and disability, said: “Some of the UAE’s legislations are good, but even the most perfect law in the world is only a piece of paper unless it gets transformed into action. And to do that we need the police to enforce the law and we need people to know. So we need campaigns to get the enforcement by the people.”

The WHO official is currently in Abu Dhabi to take part in the 18th UN Road Safety Collaboration meeting.

While congratulating the UAE on its “beautiful and good quality” roads, he said to achieve the ambitious goal, the country has to work on several issues including legislations, drink driving, wearing of seat belts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints.

“The zero road death by 2020 is an ambitious plan for the UAE, which has all the potential to be in the top five or even the best country in the world in road safety,” Etienne Krug told Gulf News.

According to Etienne Krug, speeding is an issue in the UAE and failure to wear seat belts is another issue that needs to be addressed.

“Everybody is equal in front of the law and everybody is vulnerable on the road so everybody should abide by road speed limits and wear seat belts,” he said.

Etienne Krug said there are options for preventing road traffic crashes and for improving services for victims and their families.

“The road safety and road victim NGOs who gather in Abu Dhabi for the meeting can be instrumental in catalysing the national and international response. They are an inspiration and a reminder that all societies and all of us as individuals need to step up our efforts. So many precious lives are at stake, and inaction is not an option.”

The UN Road Safety Collaboration meeting, hosted by Abu Dhabi Municipality, updates partners on progress on the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and discusses progress on global road safety initiatives.