Dubai: Dubai has suffered a loss of Dh4.7 billion due to traffic accidents in the last seven years, said a senior official.
"Traffic accidents are not only resulting in loss of lives and injuries but are also causing a huge dent to the emirate's economy," said Engineer Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
He said that traffic accidents in 2007 caused an economic loss of some Dh720 million - around one per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Dubai.
The losses include the cost of damages to vehicles and road infrastructure, and estimated charges for police and ambulance movements.
In addition, traffic congestion causes an estimated loss of about Dh4.5 billion every year.
"If necessary remedial actions are not taken to curb these human and financial losses caused by traffic accidents, statistics indicate a possible 5,200 fatalities and more than 27,000 injuries over the next eight years, in addition to an economic loss of around Dh20.1 billion by 2015," warned Al Banna.
