Dubai: Every day, more than 1,800 candidates appear for driving tests and around 600 of them walk away with a UAE driving licence.
But, not all of them will turn out to be good drivers, because according to an expert, most of them do not get adequate training.
According to Robert Hodges, who is an advisory member of several international road safety and driving regulatory bodies, the minimum of 40 classes for people without any prior driving experience is inadequate.
“The average number of hours a person is trained to be a driver [in some countries] is between 35 to 55 hours, which is 70 to 110 classes. I personally believe a minimum of 80 classes of 30 minutes each is must to produce a safe driver,” said, Hodges, COO of Emirates Driving Institute.
He also called for supervised driving for new or young drivers for a certain period.
“This is also a common practice in many countries where they place certain restrictions on young drivers even after they get their driving licence. This is to ensure they develop into a safe driver under the supervision of a more experienced driver for a certain period after which they can drive on their own,” he said.
Shedding more light on drivers training, he said training is not just about acquiring a driving licence.
“Driver’s training shouldn’t be a mere process of licence acquisition.
He acknowledged that RTA has formulated a high standard curriculum but having a curriculum is one thing and how driving schools implement them is another.
He said that training drivers is not just about making them push the accelerators and brake or turn left or right, it’s about making them aware of their responsibility on roads.
“To make somebody a good driver, you have to make them think about their driving. It’s not just about showing them what is what in a vehicle. It is critical that new drivers be trained to be keen observers,” he added.
