For nearlythe\u00a0 time I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve been driving on the roads, going through many hundreds of kilometers up and down the wonderful coast. The experience has been more foreign than I ever thought possible and it\u2019s nothing to do with Australia\u2019s unique topography, its staggeringly beautiful and diverse nature or even the fact that everyone drives on the left. No, what has struck me as totally unfamiliar is the fact that I managed to reach every destination without my nerves being frazzled.<\/p>\n
No tailgaters, no idiots tearing up the hard shoulder in heavy traffic, no speeding, no drifting from lane to lane, no road rage, no \u2013 to coin a phrase \u2013 worries. Initially I found the sedate pace rather slow. The speed limit on main roads is 100kph, with the freeways enjoying a 10kph increase. In and around urban areas it is much, much lower and is rigidly enforced by the police wherever you are. Upon spying a couple of Lotus Elises one weekend afternoon as we drove to the bohemian town of Freemantle, I remarked to my wife that I\u2019d be incredibly frustrated in such a focused driving machine while subjected to these draconian anti-speed measures. She felled me with a single comment: \u201cPerhaps it\u2019s time you grew up, love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, as usual, she was right. And, over the ensuing days and weeks, I came to realise that constant speed equals constant stress. The last thing I need in my life right now is more stress, so it\u2019s with some level of trepidation that I ponder my return to the UAE\u2019s roads where I know I will be faced with constant insanity, even when there\u2019s a specific government push to reduce accidents and fatalities. Will our roads be death-free by the year 2020? I just can\u2019t imagine it, can you?<\/p>\n
According to Australian government statistics, there was a total of 1,303 road fatalities in the country last year (an increase of two per cent over 2011) and Western Australia has the worst record of all five states. My sister-in-law, Rebecca, works as an intensive care nurse at Perth\u2019s main hospital and she reckons that 60 per cent of all admissions are the result of road accidents. What then, does she attribute this to?<\/p>\n
\u201cPerth has doubled its population in the past decade,\u201d she says, \u201cand the public transportation network hasn\u2019t kept pace with expansion. So people in outlying areas are more tempted to drink and drive, particularly the youths. They also have access to powerful cars that they\u2019re unable to handle, as insurance premiums aren\u2019t based on experience or driving history [sound familiar?].\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet despite this, I saw no evidence of the kind of lunacy we are subjected to every single day in the UAE. And that, when I quizzed locals, has to do with the policing of the roads. Random breath tests are commonplace, as are spot checks for seat-belt wearing. Even in the middle of nowhere, the police will stop you for speeding and come down hard if you\u2019re just 5kph over the limit. Four strikes and you lose all driving privileges for at least six months. And it doesn\u2019t matter who you are or how much money you have. The police are everywhere out here \u2013 everyone knows it and they drive accordingly. Misbehave on Australian roads and the consequences are dire, so you do as you\u2019re told.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that what we need in the UAE are the same sort of repercussions. Fines are mostly ineffective and there\u2019s isn\u2019t enough of a presence on our roads. Change this, make the punishment fit the crime and reduce the rush. It\u2019s high time we woke up, smelled the coffee and realized that the only way to educate our serial road abusers is to make life impossible for them if they step out of line. My wife is right: it\u2019s time we all grew up.<\/p>\n
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For nearlythe\u00a0 time I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve been driving on the roads, going through many hundreds of kilometers up and down the wonderful coast. The experience has been more foreign than I ever thought possible and it\u2019s nothing to do with Australia\u2019s unique topography, its staggeringly beautiful and diverse nature or even the fact that …<\/p>\n