Dubai: Around 20 minor accidents are reported every hour, causing traffic jams and delays, prompting Dubai Police to urge drivers to use the force’s smart application to report such incidents.
Latest police statistics showed that 121,266 minor traffic accidents were reported in the first eight months of this year and nearly 9,064 people used Dubai Police’s smart application to report the incidents.
Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, director of Smart Services Department at Dubai Police, said drivers can use the smart app to report mishaps in just three minutes.
“The drivers who used the app don’t need to wait for police patrols and block traffic,” Brigadier Al Razooqi said.
The online service, he said, can be found in the police application and is called ‘Report Minor Accident’.
“It is an easy and simple way to report accidents. It reduces time and motorists receive the police report via email and it can then be presented to insurers,” he said.
So, in case there is a minor accident (involving two to five vehicles), drivers can send the report right away, and the police officers will check the data and issue a report after 15 minutes. A copy will be sent to the email IDs of each driver and to the insurance companies.
The information that needs to be entered includes plate and licence numbers, photos of damage, email and a few other details to help police officers understand what happened.
The app also has a guide in Arabic and English explaining the steps if anyone has trouble using it.
It also sends the exact location of the accident and identifies the nearest police station, which will be issuing the report.
Brig Al Razooqi said if the two parties involved in the accident do not agree on who is at fault, each can file a report from his/her phone and the officers will look at both reports and then decide who is at fault. If the officers need more information to determine what happened, they will call the drivers involved.
“This service will cut time and effort and people don’t need to call for traffic patrol now for minor accidents.”
Many motorists praised the service after using it following accidents saying it is an easy and efficient way to report an accident.
“I was involved in a minor accident in Dubai when I called police. They asked me to download the application and follow instructions. Within a few minutes, I received a text message with the damage report and I headed to the insurance company with that. It is a great service — rather than waiting for police patrols or heading to the nearest police station to get the report,” Manaf Ahmad, a 39-year-old Iraqi engineer, told Gulf News.
Dubai Police website
Motorists can also report minor traffic accidents by sending pictures to get a damage report through the Dubai Police website — www.dubaipolice.gov.ae.
Brig Al Razooqi said the online picture service has been added on the website also to allow motorists to report minor accidents.
“When we launched the service on the application, many people used it. Due to the high demand, we have added the service on the police website. Drivers can upload car pictures and they will receive a damage report,” Brig Al Razooqi said.
After uploading the pictures, an email or text message containing the report will be sent to the person so that he/she could approach the insurance company to fix the damage.
