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Road safety research program expands to Middle East

Monash's Accident Research Centre (MUARC) has entered into a historic agreement with United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) to establish the UAE Research Centre for Transportation and Traffic Safety at the university's main campus in Al Ain.

From left: Monash deputy vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Parker; director of Curative Medicine, UAE Ministry of Health, Dr Abdul Al-Zarouni; Holden Innovation chief engineer Dr Laurie Sparke; and MUARC chair of Road Safety Professor Brian Fildes.

MUARC chair of road safety Professor Brian Fildes said MUARC would assist the UAEU to set up the cross-faculty research institute, provide training for accident investigators, supply equipment for conducting crash inspections and monitor the process and quality of data received on road crashes.

After a successful 15-year relationship with Holden in Australia, MUARC will carry out car accident investigations involving Holden vehicles exported to the United Arab Emirates and sold locally as Chevrolet vehicles. Holden last year exported more than 22,000 cars to the Middle East, its largest export market.

Monash deputy vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said he hoped MUARC and its collaboration with Holden would contribute to road safety in the UAE in the same way it had done in Australia.

Professor Fildes said the most important initial task was to establish reliable data on the number and types of crashes that lead to injury and death on UAE roads.

"There is a high accident rate, and crashes tend to be severe and often related to fatigue, speeding and road hazards such as animals. However, accurate data collection is a vital starting point," he said.