A Qualitative Investigation of Professional Driver Behavior Due to Socio-Economic, Cultural, Religious Factors and Its Impact on Dubai Road Safety

Abstract

Dubai (UAE) has experienced phenomenal transformation and rapid development recently. Despite high quality roads and transportation infrastructure, improving road safety is a major challenge due to extremely diverse socio-cultural background of Dubai’s population. Smooth urban mobility is very critical to Dubai’s continued economic growth and future development. Safer roads will not only boost investment and business activity but also improve quality of life for residents and visitors. In this regard, the vision of “zero fatality by 2020” is an ambitious government initiative. This research sought to understand the behavior of professional drivers influenced by unique socio-cultural, economic and religious factors and its impact on road safety in fast growing city of Dubai. The study adopted qualitative method involving in-depth interviews with 25 professional drivers of various backgrounds using thematic analysis. The findings show positive correlation between socio-cultural, economic factors and aberrant driver behavior but religious fatalism needs further research.