Road accidents cost Dh14bn in 2014

Road accidents cost nearly Dh14 billion and killed 138 Emiratis in 2014 while 100 of the injured suffered from permanent disability, a senior police officer has said.

The losses involved compensation for deaths, medical treatment of the injured and vehicles damaged in the accidents, said Brigadier Gaith al Zaabi, director general of traffic coordination at the ministry of interior.

He told Emirat Alyoum daily that the accidents also resulted in the injury of 1,934 nationals as a result of reckless driving, speed and other road offences.

He said the high casualties meant the UAE had the world’s 7th highest road death rate relative to its population, with a ratio of 6.5 per 100,000 in 2013.

His figures showed the ratio in the UAE was below the 2011 rate of 8.19 per 100,000 despite growth in the population and an increase of seven per cent in the number of vehicles to 2.67 million. Driving licences also topped 3.9 million, he added.

The figures also showed the UAE recorded a whopping 3.6 million offences in 2013, an average 9,860 offences per day.

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