Examining the Direct Effect of the Use of Traffic Safety Technologies in Abu Dhabi Highways on Other Traffic Safety Dimensions

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study, implemented in Abu Dhabi, which aimed to examine the direct effects of the use of traffic safety technologies on the mitigation of risks associated with traffic accidents. The study adopted the use of a questionnaire-based survey with traffic safety experts in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The views of more than a hundred respondents were collected on areas such as the status of existing traffic safety technologies in Abu Dhabi’s highway network, the impact of traffic safety technologies on enforcement, existing highway design practices, effects of driver education on safety and the impact of safety technologies on the efficiency of emergency responses. Factor analysis and Freidman tests were employed for the interrogation of the data in order to extract findings from the views of different experts on the aforementioned areas. The analysis showed that the deployment of traffic safety technologies has a positive impact on the efficiency of enforcement practices and improvements on traffic safety, and on enhancing operators’ efficiency and capability in taking appropriate and prompt action in situations calling for emergency responses. Moreover, speed cameras and VMS deployment are highly favoured in addressing engineering design shortfalls. Also, training and awareness enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of traffic safety technologies.