Dubai: Dubai Police have urged motorists to ensure that their cars and tyres are in good condition as part of its yearly summer road safety campaign.
The campaign, launched under the slogan ‘Towards a safe summer on the roads’ and sponsored by Autopro, aims to spread awareness among people.
Major-General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Head of the Federal Traffic Council and Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Operations Affairs, said the nationwide campaign will help to bring down number of road accidents and fatalities during summer.
Awareness activities
“The scheme includes activities that will help raise awareness among motorists and road users about the dangers posed by breaching traffic laws. The three-month campaign will focus on importance of tyres as bad tyres are the cause of most accidents during summer,” said Maj Gen Al Zafein. “UAE’s network of roads has helped reduce the number of road deaths from 30 people for each 100,000 in the past 15 years to three-four deaths for every 100,000 in recent years.”
Stricter traffic regulations and increased police patrols have also played a part in the decline of road crashes and deaths. “Accidents that happen during summer months contribute to about 25 to 30 per cent of UAE traffic deaths,” added Al Zafein.
He urged all motorists to ensure the safety of their vehicles during road trips. During the summer over the past three years, 87 people died in traffic accidents, 30 of them last year, 28 the year before and 29 in 2018.
Official data
According to official data from Dubai Police, sudden swerving was the main reason behind the deadly accidents during the summer, followed by not leaving safe distance between vehicles.
Pakistani drivers caused 40.6 per cent of these crashes, followed by Indian motorists causing 18.8 per cent of the accidents. Emiratis came third by causing 16.8 per cent of the fatal traffic accidents during the summer in the last three years.
