The sighting of the Suhail star and the beginning of the new academic year are two traditional indicators of the summer months drawing to a close. Their arrival this week has been accompanied by two markers of a new era for the country's motorists, in the form of Accident-Free Day last Monday and the extension of road tolls in Abu Dhabi beginning on September 1.
Drivers were encouraged to pledge commitment to Accident-Free Day on Monday, coinciding with the moment many thousands of students returned to classrooms around the country. The opt-in campaign urged motorists to respect speed limits and wear seatbelts, as well as avoid tailgating and distractions. Typically, distraction, sudden deviation and failure to maintain safe distances by tailgating are cited as leading causes of accidents in the UAE.
More than 300,000 drivers signed up to take part in the same campaign last year and those who avoided incidents on Accident-Free Day had four black points removed from their licence. These normally stay on a motorist’s record for 12 months after committing an offence. The campaign provided the same write-off this year.
It is a clever incentive, tying one of the busiest and more stressful days of the motoring calendar to good behaviour and courteous driving.
The widespread uptake offers several indicators of how we think as a nation, including that few of us are perfect drivers and many welcome the chance to remove past transgressions from our records. The specific focus of the campaign also underscores how simple changes in driver behaviour can increase safety.
Given the popularity of the campaign, it may be that further incentive schemes could be considered at other peak times of the year.
While the metric for measuring success – staying accident-free – does not necessarily absolutely correlate with good driving, few would argue against it becoming at least an annual fixture.
At the beginning of next week, new toll pricing will come into force for those motorists who use four of Abu Dhabi’s main bridges – Mussaffah, Maqta, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa – during peak hours.
Tolls have been part of the Abu Dhabi landscape for most of the past five years. Initially introduced at the beginning of 2020, fees ended up being waived for most of that year and only reinstated in January 2021, months after the first phase of pandemic-era stay-at-home orders were lifted. Dubai’s Salik system has been in place since 2007.
Road users in Abu Dhabi are currently charged Dh4 when using those bridges during a two-hour peak period in the morning and the same block of time during evening rush hour, while Sunday and public holidays are exempt. The rule change extends the evening period by two more hours, making the chargeable time a combined six hours for six days of the week. The maximum daily usage cap of Dh16 has also been removed.
The Darb system, like Salik, is technically seamless and has become part of everyday life on the roads. Both systems also have clearly defined rules and, by definition, only collect a payment when a user accesses the road network at a chargeable time.
Few of us have neutral opinions regarding the imposition of further charges, which are always bound to generate a certain amount of anxiety, whether justified or not.
While there is never a right time of year to increase tariffs, tolls are an effective tool in traffic management and help support a road network in this country that is the envy of many.
Like Accident-Free Day, pricing structure changes to tolls are likely to focus motorists' minds on their own driving habits and road use.
Many journeys at peak times are unavoidable, of course, but there are obvious responses to charging periods being extended, such as carpooling to share costs or accessing public transport. Further improvements in the public transport network will encourage even more people to leave their cars at home and get on a bus, train or boat instead, with the associated benefits of unclogging roads and potentially reducing emissions.
For those who remain concerned by road toll charges, what is the alternative? Tolls are unlikely to go away but if they were, one option could be a system that leans on consumption via a small surcharge per litre charged at the petrol pump.
The UAE deregulated fuel prices 10 years ago, in August 2015, tying prices to the movements of the oil markets instead of providing generous subsidies and maintaining a flat price for long periods.
Price movements have become the norm since the era of fixed pricing came to a close, but generally have been carefully balanced. Over the past three months, for instance, there was no change to prices in June, a rise of 11 fils per litre in July and a drop of 1 fils per litre in August.
On balance, many might consider the mix of regulation, education and incentive to work in terms of rewarding good driving and discouraging excessive road use.
Only months from now will we know if this new era has brought fundamental change to our behaviour on the roads or if we have stuck to old habits.
