Collision course: 1 in 3 UAE motorists involved in road crash

Alarming figures have emerged from a new road safety study that reveals one out of every three UAE motorists has been involved in a traffic-related accident, while four out of every five believes reckless driving has seen an upswing in the past five years.

The Emirates Motoring survey of 1,007 UAE drivers is the second set of findings from a study released today by global insurer Zurich and RoadSafetyUAE.com, which also found that men were reported to have a higher accident rate compared to women.

More than two-thirds of respondents reported that the biggest cause of road accidents in the UAE is speeding (68 per cent), followed by tailgating (56 per cent) and drivers being distracted instead of fully focused on the road (47 per cent).

The study comes even as the Federal Traffic Council for the UAE is diligently working towards introducing new road safety initiatives, which includes lowering the speed limit across major highways, a reduction in the grace limit for speed radar traps, along with introducing a rear passenger seatbelt law.

In the first eight months of 2014 there were 3,170 accidents reported on UAE roads, which resulted in the injury of 4,602 people and 463 deaths, according to data from the UAE’s Ministry of Interior.

Men vs women drivers

The new study found that 35 per cent of respondents have been involved in a collision with men (38 per cent) far more likely than women (27 per cent) to have been involved in a road accident.

Young motorists were also more likely to have been involved in a collision.

Despite only being behind the wheel for a maximum of six years, 36 per cent of young drivers (aged 18 to 24) reported that they had already been involved in an accident in the UAE.

In part, this high total may be caused by the 43 per cent of young drivers who claim that they get distracted while driving.

Speeding is a proven to increase both the risk and intensity of a road accident.

Yet only 50 per cent of road users aged 18 to 24 believed speeding is a significant cause of accidents, compared with 74 per cent of respondents aged over 40.

The study also revealed that Emiratis have reported the highest incidents of being involved in a collision, with 48 per cent agreeing to at least one; Arab expats stood at 42 per cent, while 29 per cent was reported for Asian expats and 37 per cent for Western expats.

Commenting on the results of the research, Brian Reilly, CEO of Zurich Insurance Middle East, said: “The number of UAE residents that have been involved in a traffic collision is very concerning and unfortunately this supports the belief that there are more reckless drivers on UAE roads than five years ago.

“What is particularly worrying is the high proportion of young drivers who have had an accident despite the short timeframe they have been behind the wheel.

“Both speed and tailgating are verified causes of road accidents and we would encourage all road users to drive at a suitable speed and maintain a safe distance from other cars.”

Thomas Edelmann, founder of RoadSafetyUAE.com, stated: “Across the UAE there needs to be a cultural shift in driving attitudes to ensure motorists take responsibility for their own behaviour and look out for one another on the roads.

“Taking unnecessary risks and driving carelessly is a major cause of crashes, which should be of upmost concern to all motorists and passengers. We urge traffic participants to commit to safe driving by signing our on-line pledge ‘Make UAE Roads Safer!’.”

Earlier this year, Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, the head of the UAE Federal Traffic Council spoke to Emirates 24|7 about a single speed limit proposal, saying: "The idea itself is one that we have discussed on several occasions but stems from the idea that we are one single country, so why do we have different traffic rules, limits in different cities?

“We are not just looking to set a single speed limit, but also reduce the grace limit in certain parts to set unified radar setting as well; currently it is 20kmph somewhere, 30kmph elsewhere.”

The Traffic Chief said he was also eager to reduce the grace limit on radar settings, saying: “I have put forth a proposal to decrease the current speed limit on major highways across the emirate, from 120km per hour to 110kmph.

“This applies to all the arteries, including Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.”

Al Zafeen said the reason behind this proposal was to curb reckless speeding on the major highways, which is the number one killer in traffic offenses.

The new findings of the Emirates Motoring study were gathered from a survey conducted between June 15, 2014 and June 23, 2014, with 1,007 residents living in all seven emirates responding online on YouGov.

Respondents were asked about their driving experience in the UAE and asked to share their views on dangerous driving on roads.

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