Dubai: A promising drop in road fatalities in the first of this year as compared to the same period in 2016 is helping Dubai Police edge closer to their strategic target of zero road deaths by 2020.
Latest statistics revealed by Dubai Police show a 32 per cent decrease in casualties so far this year as compared to high death rates in the last two years despite all safety and educational measures taken by Dubai Police.
During the first half of this year, 76 people were killed and 996 others injured in 1,447 major traffic accidents as compared to 112 deaths and injuries to 1,056 people in 1,490 major traffic accidents in the same period in 2016.
“In general, there was a drop in casualties on the roads in the UAE but the most significant drop was in Dubai. It is good to see a drop in the number of deaths this year after the increase in the last two years. I expect the number to be even lesser as the new traffic law has come into force,” said Major-General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, head of the Federal Traffic Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Operations Affairs.
The new Federal Traffic Law came into effect on July 1 bringing in stiffer laws, fines and penalties for motorists who flout rules and road safety.
Maj-Gen Al Zafein said the traffic council was ordered by Lt-General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to reduce the number of deaths to three people per 100,000 population by 2021.
The number now is six deaths per 100,000 people.
“The importance of the recent drop in Dubai is that it is less than the number of deaths in 2015 when 77 people died in the first half of the year,” Maj-Gen Al Zafein said.
The main cause of deaths on Dubai roads this year was vehicle crashes in which 47 people died.
Pedestrian run-over incidents were the second leading cause of death so far this year with 20 fatalities reported.
Maj-Gen Al Zafein lauded the efforts of police patrols in educating jaywalkers and intensified patrolling in crowded areas like Al Quoz and Al Ghusais,
“Many pedestrians cross from non-designated areas and they are careless about their lives ... they even cross highways,” he said.
