UAE | Traffic and Transport

Fatality rates on Dubai roads drop considerably

Reduction of speed limits key to safety improvement

  • Staff Report
  • Published: 00:00 November 23, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dangerous road
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
  • The smashed remains of a bus and a car after a crash near Al Maktoum Bridge last year.

 Dubai: The fatality rate from traffic crashes has dropped considerably since 2005, a senior official from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) claimed.

Maitha Mohammad Bin Udai, CEO of RTA's Traffic and Roads Agency, said several measures adopted by the agency have contributed to the drop in the number.

However, what tops the list is bringing down the speed limit from 120km/h to 100km/h and on some roads reducing the speed limit from 100km/h to 80km/h.

She said the number of deaths dropped from 29 in 2007 to 10 cases in 2008 on Shaikh Zayed Road (from Defence Roundabout to the Fifth Interchange).

Similarly, the number of deaths on Al Khawaneej Road also dropped from seven cases to just one case in 2007 after closing the turning openings and reducing the speed limit from 100 km/h to 80 km/h.

Only one accident was reported on Al Amardi Road in 2007 whereas the death cases were five in 2006.

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Strategy

Maitha said traffic accidents and fatalities on Dubai roads was on the higher scale during the period from 1997 to 2005.

Emphasising the importance of working out a traffic safety strategy for Dubai, the RTA adopted the highest international standards which met with remarkable success in traffic safety worldwide.

For the first time in the last eight years the emirate has witnessed a remarkable improvement judging by the drop in the number of fatalities resulting from traffic accidents in Dubai.

According to Maitha, the best global practices have shown that road traffic safety is a problem that needs a coordinated work plan involving the police, civil defence, ambulance service, and education as well as public and private organisations.

"All countries which have recorded the best road safety levels in the world, such as Sweden, UK, The Netherlands and Singapore, have acknowledged the importance of obliging all key players responsible for road traffic safety to coordinate efforts with the concerned bodies."

Speeding ranks among the key factors responsible for traffic accidents, and the RTA is continuously focusing on studying and revising the speed limits on roads which record the highest accident rates.

Do you feel safer while driving these days? Have you noticed a difference in the quality of driving on the roads?

Comments (13)

  1. Added 09:58 November 24, 2009

    I agree with everyones comments specially that speed combined with reckless driving is almost always fatal. I am a relatively new biker on the road and everyday someone wants to kill me. 9 out of 10 times it is a minivan loaded with passengers changing lanes without indicating or doing a shoulder check. And worst of all, some of the drivers play loud music due to which they cant hear cars honking and everyone knows that people dont care about drivers flashing their lights. I am not being one sided becuase even I used to travel by minivans and the major reason for them to drive in the manner is the number of trips they are forced to make in a very limited time period by the company owners. Only solution would be to hire more educated drivers and for company owners to reduce the number of trips required to be made by the drivers on a daily basis.

    Anonymous, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 14:02 November 23, 2009

    There is no fast track or fast lane on a highway / motorway. The outside lane is for overtaking and not cruising at mach 1 with your lights flashing endagering the lives of others. The same speed limit applies to all the lanes with the exception of the drivers who are restricted by their vehicle size i.e large trucks and buses etc who are restricted to the 2 inside lanes. Until people stop using their phones while driving (it should carry the same penalty as drink driving) and start obeying the rules accidents will continue. What are all the dark windows about surley they are not safe? and perhaps we are unable to see some of the offenders because of them. Remember the 3 C's... Care, Courtesy and Consideration....even if you drive an SUV bigger than everyone elses. Thank you.

    Paul Devine, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  3. Added 14:01 November 23, 2009

    I think the mini buses and taxis pose a major threat to the traffic discipline & road behaviour. Lane changing according to the whims and fancies without having an imagination of how the co-driver would be displaced is one of the reasons for the chaos. Little bit caring for other co-road users and inherting a sense of responsible behaviour on the road would mitigate the road accidents to a greater extent.

    Venkat.S., Dubai., United Arab Emirates

  4. Added 13:21 November 23, 2009

    The RTA should bring in a rule like used in Australia were all Buses and Heavy vehicles must be fitted with speed limiters. This had greatly reduced the road toll.

    Anonymous, Dubai, Australia

  5. Added 12:52 November 23, 2009

    RTA needs to ban all public transport vehicles, busses, mini-busses, etc. from the 3 fastest lanes on the left. I often find these vehicles in the faster lanes on SZR, they never indicate when turning and are normally packed with people.

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  6. Added 12:14 November 23, 2009

    Most often we can see Van & Mini Bus on the fast track on Shaikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road, Al Khail Road & Dubai Bypass Road. Drivers will not allow other speeding vehicles to move and intentionally blocking the fast track and putting the passengers life in danger. RTA needs to introduce a ban on Van & Mini Bus to use the fast track in order to minimise the accident due to the misbehavior of Van & Mini Bus drivers.

    Mujeeb, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  7. Added 11:38 November 23, 2009

    It seems that the traffic has slowed down considerably in the past year. However, in my opinion, the mini busses as well as the small trucks should be confined to the 2 right lanes. They are notorious for creeping along in the 2 left lanes, locking up their brakes before every camera, which is not helping the traffic flow at all. I also noticed that the fines do not seem to be high enough for drivers of high end luxury cars, which are still driven recklessly in high speed across all lanes. Were is the law enforcement there? I ride a motorcycle in the UAE, and this behaviour is really annoying, to say the least.

    Anonymous, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

  8. Added 10:26 November 23, 2009

    Being a daily commuter I think if each and every driver abides by the speed limit then it should be easier and safe for all but reckless driving is the major hitch in UAE, especially mini vans 16 seaters, they should be really monitored strictly on regular basis, no offence but most mini van drivers do not recognise the consequences of their rough and reckless driving which may result to a serious injury on the other end who could be someone's brother, sister, husband, wife, mother or father. Finally I would like to appeal all the owners of the mini vans to supervise their drivers every fortnight.

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  9. Added 09:56 November 23, 2009

    Yes the speed limit is one important issue. However, I believe the minibus driver, bus driver and cab driver should get more traning in order to change their dangerous driving.

    Franck, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  10. Added 09:41 November 23, 2009

    Instead of changing the speed limits, you need to prevent the reckless driving by 90% of buses, truks & mini buses dirvers use to change lanes. i have tonnes of video clips, showing the dangerous way they're using just to jumb to the other part of any road!! speed has nothing to do here!!

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    11. View more comments

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