Over 1.9m traffic offences in UAE in Q1

UAE drivers committed nearly 1.957 million traffic offences on the country’s roads in the first quarter of 2013, a staggering average of 22,000 offences a day.

Interior Ministry data showed the level was nearly 7.4 per cent below the number of offences of 2.113 million recorded in the first quarter of 2012.

Dubai-based Albayan newspaper, which reported the figures, did not specify the type of offences but earlier police reports have shown the bulk of traffic violations involve high speed, reckless driving, jumping the red lights and negligence while driving.

The report showed jumping the red signal caused 114 accidents during the first quarter of 2013 while 103 road mishaps were a result of speeding.

The paper quoted Brigadier Gaith Al Zaabi, traffic coordination director at the Ministry, as saying authorities are pushing ahead with a strategy to cut accidents on roads and reduce deaths to 5.5 per every 100,000 people by 2030.

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