UAE: Emirati vs. Expat
The survey conducted on 466 Emirati men in an age group of 18-to-33 revealed that more than half don’t wear a seatbelt, drive wrong lane down in a one-way street, and talk on mobile phones while driving on highways.
The survey was conducted by a group of 98 students at the UAE University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and revealed that around 2.6 percent Emiratis admit to consistently jumping traffic lights.
According to the report, a small number of men admitted to getting tempted to overtake if their car is fancier than the one driving in front of them. However, 16 percent of Emiratis will overtake if the driver in front is an expatriate or belonging to another emirate.
The report said that this kind of behavior is termed as ‘territoriality’, and comes from the culture of praise among local males for risk-taking without getting caught or being punished for the act.
“Approaching cars at high-speed, flashing headlights to budge cars out-of-the-way is seen as respected behavior among young Emiratis males,” the report said.
Ironically, one who abides traffic rules is seen as ‘unmanly or cowardly’ and is termed as an unskilled driver among Emirati males.
The UAE has one of the highest rates of road deaths in the world. In 2008, road traffic accidents were responsible for nearly 70 percent of injury related deaths in the capital. Around 75 percent of traffic accidents are caused by human fault rather than road or car conditions.
The report also stated that nearly 65 percent of Emirati young males admitted to being involved in one or more car crashes, with more than 25 percent suffering injuries from the accidents.
The government is working closely with the concerned agencies to ensure safe roads for both Emiratis and expatriates who become victims to such reckless drivers. However, changing the attitude of young Emiratis who are behind reckless driving is not going to be easy as such behavior draws inspiration from the culture.
