ONE IN FIVE DRIVERS INVOLVED IN CRASHES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS
▶ Many motorists believe driving in the UAE is becoming more dangerous, YouGov survey finds
One in five drivers were involved in a road accident in the UAE in the past six months, a study found.
The YouGov survey revealed a rising number of motorists feel driving in the country is becoming more dangerous, with speeding, tailgating and sudden lane changing all causes for concern.
But the figures, based on the responses of 1,000 motorists across the country, also show an increase in driving enjoyment, a reduction in travel times and a belief that fewer motorists are distracted when behind the wheel.
The UAE Road Safety Monitor, commissioned by campaign group RoadSafetyUAE in partnership with insurance company Noor Takaful, has been surveying experiences on the
UAE’s roads every six months since 2015.
“We must understand that proper behaviour and responsible road users are the main ingredients to making our roads safer,” said Thomas Edelmann, managing director of RoadSafetyUAE.
“We see positive perception trends with the authorities’ continued efforts in further improving the road infrastructure and the resulting positive factors.
“Driving enjoyment is improving and there is a slight reduction in commute times, but more needs to be done to educate motorists by improving their driving behaviour.”
When the survey was first conducted in 2015, 54 per cent of drivers said the roads were becoming more dangerous.
In the latest poll, 43 per cent of respondents said they shared that sentiment, an increase of three per cent on the previous study last year, but a marked decline since the question was first posed.
The percentage of drivers admitting they were involved in road accidents has varied between a low of 16 per cent and a high of 22 per cent during the eight surveys conducted.
In the latest report, 19 per cent of respondents told researchers they were involved in a road accident within the past six months.
Several government-backed road safety campaigns have launched in recent years to promote good driving habits.
There has been a particular focus on young Emirati men after a UAE University study found men were responsible for about 80 per cent of traffic accidents in Abu Dhabi, while almost 40 per cent of traffic deaths over a five-year period in the capital were caused by Emirati motorists.
A summer campaign by the Federal Traffic Council called on motorists to regularly check the state of their tyres.
Ministry of Interior data showed burst or poorly maintained tyres caused 785 accidents nationwide last year.
More than 1,100 people suffered injuries as a result of those incidents.
About 5,000 motorists were fined in Abu Dhabi and had their vehicles seized in the first six months of this year for driving with unsafe tyres.
The latest road safety study found calls to stop using mobile phones while driving appeared to be working.
In the survey, 68 per cent of respondents said they noticed drivers using mobile phones at the wheel or experiencing other distractions, a statistic that is down from a peak of 79 per cent in 2016.
This latest study is an important to help improve education on the roads, said Rajesh Sethi, chief executive of Noor Takaful.
“This study provides valuable feedback about the impact of these efforts aimed at increasing road safety,” he said.
“We believe communicating these indicators to the public can positively influence behaviour and eventually decrease road accidents.”
Figures show an increase in driving enjoyment, a reduction in travel times and a belief that fewer motorists are distracted