Men are 'the worst traffic offenders in the capital'

Abu Dhabi: About 90 per cent of traffic accidents in Abu Dhabi this year were caused by males, the police have said.

Among the 2,474 traffic accidents that took place in the city between January 1 and October 31, 209 were committed by females while 2,265 were committed by males.

Officials also noted, in a statement to the press, that female drivers were found to be less reckless than male drivers.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Al Shehhi, head of the traffic section at Capital Police said that the accidents range from serious to simple accidents. 133 accidents were impact accidents.

Amongst these, 47 were side impact accidents, 25 were collisions from behind and 17 from the front. 13 accidents were due to colliding with a solid object, while 8 were due to colliding with an object off the road. Females caused 40 pedestrian run over accidents, during the period, he said. 24 other accidents caused the car to roll over.

Al Shehhi said that the gender of the driver has no relation to the accidents caused, and explained that the causes of accidents are the same irrespective of gender.

Not leaving sufficient distance between vehicles, over speeding and lack of attention while driving are the main causes of accidents, he said. Most of the females who got traffic fines were young people, he said. The common most cause of fines were for using mobile phones.

Not leaving sufficient distance between vehicles, overspeeding, lack of attention and use of mobile phone while driving are some of the main causes of accidents that were cited.

Debate: Who's best?

Riyaz Mohammad, an Indian employed as a clerk, says: "Females are very poor drivers. They spend most of the time on make up or talking on the phone while they are driving. Also they drive on the fast lane at 80 to 100 km/hr."

Ariel Ambalada, a Filipino who works with Etihad Airways, said: "I hear very often about cab drivers getting irritated when female drivers drive very slowly."

Do you consider women to be safe drivers? Why? What is the main cause of traffic accidents in the UAE? How can people be encouraged to drive more safely? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.

I find it absolutely hilarious that even after the factual number of accidents caused by males over females is so much higher, people still state that women are unable to drive and perform on the road as good as men! How funny! I constantly find men on the road driving like maniacs, tailgating, trying to impress or make gestures to women on the road, and driving on the hard shoulder. Testosterone driving syndrome is rampant here in.
Mary
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 13:59

In response to Mr Riyaz Mohammad?s comment, he is not supposed to drive more than 100km/h on Shaikh Zayed Road in the first place. That is why there are so many accidents, because of over speeding and tailgating.
Shirley B. Erestain
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 13:34

I am sorry to highlight this but it is true that most of the male motorists drive very slowly, of which accidents are caused.
Mohammad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 13:27

Men are considered reckless drivers while women are very cautious. I think both genders are just as bad. When I leave my house I need to go through a filter. If there is a woman driving in front of me, I just pull my handbrake because I would know that I would not be going anywhere anytime soon. They cannot brake or speed at the right time. The run over cases by women proves my point. Do not talk about indicator. How many of you have observed cars changing lanes with the opposite indication flashing?
Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 11:10

What is the price of a Bluetooth headset? Dh150 only? Or is using a headset not classy enough for female drivers? It is odd how female drivers were responsible for running over 40 pedestrians. Most drivers here only know how to drive in a straight line. Avoiding an object on the road, turning properly or braking at the right time seems to be beyond the ability of most drivers. The Germans have a rule: "Halbe Tacho". It means that if you are following a vehicle at 100 kilometres per hour (km/h), you need to allow at least 50 metres between you and the vehicle in front. A vehicle being driven at 130 km/h requires at least 120 metres to bring it to a stop! I believe selfishness and arrogance is the prime cause of bad driving and bad parking in UAE.
Roger Swainson
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 10:43

Women are just as bad when it comes to driving. I see more women using their mobile phones than men. They also drive way below the speed limit. Men might drive a bit fast, but women get more emotional and sometimes take it out on the car.
Ahmad Hadel
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 10:19

Women drivers are the cause of accidents. They drive slowly on the fast track and dont give way.
Sayed Khan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 10:11

We cannot make general claims about a gender , but I have personally seen that it is mostly some very careless male drivers who are either very frustrated with life or are over-confident that they are seen driving while talking on the mobile and trying to come too close to either overtake or force you to change lane immediately. They also go above the speed limit.
Abbas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 09:32

I think this result is based on statistics of recorded traffic incidents and does not include those female drivers who were pulled over but were reprieved just because they are women. Recently, I saw someone being apprehended by police but after seeing that the driver was a woman, the police let her go. After that, she almost hit my car maybe because she was not checking first her rear view before changing lanes. I honked but nothing happened. While turning left at a traffic signal, she again almost hit another car on her right. In judging who is a better or worse driver, we need to get the proper percentages of both male and female drivers.
Eddie
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 08:57

Women are more safe drivers than men. For 16 months now I have been driving everyday from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. What I have noticed is that very few drivers in Abu Dhabi use the signal lights and this causes accidents and collisions.
CJ
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 08:41

I have encountered many men driving other drivers crazy just as much as women! So, enough of this debate on who is the better driver. Let us concentrate on educating ourselves to have proper discipline for safer roads.
Adel S. Perez
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 08:32

I am a teacher and my class says: "We did a survey and we asked 44 people about their behaviour in driving. We noticed that males are more careless, for example, they don't leave a distance and they lose their temper while driving."
Yvette
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 08:27

Men have serious adrenaline problems. Need I say more?
Sabina
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 07:53

Women are safe drivers because they care and don't speed.Men cause accidents because they don't keeping enough distance between cars.
Shady Sammy
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 07:48

Funny, but in most western countries women have to pay less car insurance because they are proven to be the safer drivers. Women dont use their car to show off. They also dont speed.Only as young and inexperienced drivers both men and women tend to make the same mistakes when driving, but after a certain time the difference gets significant.A car is not a weapon or some compensation for any poor male attributes!
Anna
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 19, 2008, 06:51