Drunkenness key cause of Dubai road deaths

Drunkenness and jumping the red lights emerged as one of the key causes of fatal accidents on Dubai’s roads as they resulted in 19 deaths in the first five months of 2011, more than a third of the total death toll.

Police records showed 55 people were killed in road mishaps in the emirate in the first five months of 2011 compared with 83 in the first five months of 2010. Police attributed the decline to intensified measures against reckless driving, leading to a decline in accidents to 1,080 from 1,182 in the same period.

A police report carried by the semi official daily Alittihad on Saturday showed 154 accidents were caused by driving under the influence of alcohol, resulting in eight deaths. Seven people were also killed as a result of jumping the red lights.

On top of the accident causes was failure by road users to pay attention to others, resulting in 112 mishaps and 12 deaths.

Speed and reckless driving resulted in five deaths while four people died in accidents caused by motorists’ failure to stick to lane.

The reports showed Alqudra street was the main scene of accidents which resulted in four deaths while there were three deaths each on Dubai-Hatta, Dubai-Al Ain and Nakheel roads. Accidents on the Emirates circular road plunged by 80 per cent to three, resulting in three deaths in the first five months of 2011 from 57 mishaps, resulting in 15 deaths in the first five months of 2010.

The 27-35 year age group was the main victim of accidents in the first five months of 2011 as they resulted in 16 deaths. It was followed by the 18-26 age group, with eight deaths, according to the report.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.