An Open Letter to Minister Ziad Baroud
Dear Minister Baroud,
Please save us from the motoring bullies on our roads.
Lebanon, it seems, is destined to fight one war after the other and pay the heaviest of costs. Today we are faced with a new war, the traffic war. This is a war we must win. People need to feel safe on the roads once again. The blood letting on our roads has to stop. The solution is a reeducation campaign backed up by a get-tough policy that imposes hefty fines on violators of the traffic code with a black points system that keeps drivers in line.
Mr. Baroud, back in my college days (1994) I took part in a traffic survey that examined attitudes and behaviors of drivers as part of a social psychology course. We designed a questionnaire and used scientific methodology to arrive at our conclusions and we submitted our findings to the UAE Interior Ministry. (The study was later entered into a competition as part of a traffic safety campaign and won first prize) I can send you a copy of the survey and our findings if you feel it would be useful.
We need more effective enforcement and control mechanisms. Police have to be seen stopping errant drivers and either warning or fining them.
At the root of the Lebanese traffic problem is driver attitude which in Lebanon is pathologically aggressive, combative, competitive (to a fault) and reckless. This may stem from a fatalistic approach adopted during Lebanon’s chaotic period. A period when there were fewer cars on the roads than militia men and when the risk of being hit by a stray shell or a snipers bullet was greater than having a traffic accident.
Understanding the root cause of the problem is vital if driver attitudes and behaviors are to be changed. This can be accomplished in a number of ways: First, a public awareness campaign that targets drivers more effectively, for example, before renewing vehicle registration a driver can be made to sit for a 45 minute lecture on safe driving habits.
Second, the process by which one obtains a driving license in Lebanon has to be redesigned. A written driving test needs to be introduced with a 90 percentile passing grade requirement, as well as a parking and garage test to test motorists’ maneuvering skills in tight situations and a road test. A public-private partnership would be a good idea in this instance whereby private firms would open professional driving schools to train and test future drivers to a high level of proficiency. They could seek assistance from driving instructors in Europe or the Americas where driving rules are better developed.
Finally, an intensive media campaign has to hammer home the idea that cars don’t kill, drivers kill. Disturbing and uncomfortable imagery of horrific injuries and decapitations due to traffic crashes would help a lot and make people think twice before they loose their temper on the road. Another idea is to have a weekly traffic program on television aimed at creating awareness among people that everyone in Lebanon is guilty of disregarding the rules at least some of the time and even if they think they are perfect drivers they are not. Changing the way people think when they get behind the wheel is a vital first step.
In the end, I wish you and your cadre at the ministry the best of luck in this worthwhile endeavor, I am sure that all the good people of this country wish the same.
Please save us from the motoring bullies on our roads.
Lebanon, it seems, is destined to fight one war after the other and pay the heaviest of costs. Today we are faced with a new war, the traffic war. This is a war we must win. People need to feel safe on the roads once again. The blood letting on our roads has to stop. The solution is a reeducation campaign backed up by a get-tough policy that imposes hefty fines on violators of the traffic code with a black points system that keeps drivers in line.
Mr. Baroud, back in my college days (1994) I took part in a traffic survey that examined attitudes and behaviors of drivers as part of a social psychology course. We designed a questionnaire and used scientific methodology to arrive at our conclusions and we submitted our findings to the UAE Interior Ministry. (The study was later entered into a competition as part of a traffic safety campaign and won first prize) I can send you a copy of the survey and our findings if you feel it would be useful.
We need more effective enforcement and control mechanisms. Police have to be seen stopping errant drivers and either warning or fining them.
At the root of the Lebanese traffic problem is driver attitude which in Lebanon is pathologically aggressive, combative, competitive (to a fault) and reckless. This may stem from a fatalistic approach adopted during Lebanon’s chaotic period. A period when there were fewer cars on the roads than militia men and when the risk of being hit by a stray shell or a snipers bullet was greater than having a traffic accident.
Understanding the root cause of the problem is vital if driver attitudes and behaviors are to be changed. This can be accomplished in a number of ways: First, a public awareness campaign that targets drivers more effectively, for example, before renewing vehicle registration a driver can be made to sit for a 45 minute lecture on safe driving habits.
Second, the process by which one obtains a driving license in Lebanon has to be redesigned. A written driving test needs to be introduced with a 90 percentile passing grade requirement, as well as a parking and garage test to test motorists’ maneuvering skills in tight situations and a road test. A public-private partnership would be a good idea in this instance whereby private firms would open professional driving schools to train and test future drivers to a high level of proficiency. They could seek assistance from driving instructors in Europe or the Americas where driving rules are better developed.
Finally, an intensive media campaign has to hammer home the idea that cars don’t kill, drivers kill. Disturbing and uncomfortable imagery of horrific injuries and decapitations due to traffic crashes would help a lot and make people think twice before they loose their temper on the road. Another idea is to have a weekly traffic program on television aimed at creating awareness among people that everyone in Lebanon is guilty of disregarding the rules at least some of the time and even if they think they are perfect drivers they are not. Changing the way people think when they get behind the wheel is a vital first step.
In the end, I wish you and your cadre at the ministry the best of luck in this worthwhile endeavor, I am sure that all the good people of this country wish the same.
Comments
Post a Comment