During my recent stint in the United Arab Emirates, I led a group of business students through development of a Road Safety Awareness campaign. Having spent four years investigating fatal traffic incidents in the greater Brisbane Metropolitan Area (Queensland, Australia), many years ago, it was an interesting revisit to road safety.

The Emirates has the highest road fatality rate in the world eg, in Dubai, one person dies every 32 h from some kind of road trauma. The rest of the country also figures high in plastic chains suppliers deaths. One area of our research that got my attention was the inordinately high number of single vehicle incidents apparently involving tyre failure.

The Emirates has some of the best roads I have seen; divided carriageways in excellent condition, multiple lanes, fencing to keep stock from the road, and brightly lit during the night. It also has some of the worst drivers and very lax law enforcement. Although the speed limits posted on major highways are 120 km/hr, most believe they can do 140 km/hr without being fined for speeding. Many people go much faster.

With money to burn, petroleum prices a pittance, fast cars and inexperience, it's a dangerous mix that kills many young Emirati nationals every year. The mix is even more dangerous when drivers have no knowledge of tyre specifications and maintenance. I feel sure this lack of knowledge about tyres, apart from speed and lack of experience and attention, is a major cause of the many roll-overs on perfectly straight, well-engineered roads.

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