Dubai: Dubai Police have recorded a 45 per cent increase in traffic fatalities in the first half of 2016, compared with the same period last year, an officer said on Sunday.
The first half of 2016 witnessed 112 deaths and 1,037 injuries in 1,472 traffic incidents, compared with 77 deaths and 1,073 injuries in 1,526 accidents in the same period last year.
Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of Dubai Traffic Police, said sudden swerving, speeding, tailgating, and being inconsiderate to road users were the top causes of accidents leading to deaths.
“Being inconsiderate to road users led to 163 accidents, resulting in 27 deaths, followed by tailgating — 287 incidents — resulting in 21 deaths. Sudden swerving caused 14 deaths and 292 accidents and, finally, speeding resulted in 14 deaths,” he said.
In 2015, tailgating was the leading cause of traffic deaths, followed by being inconsiderate to road users and sudden swerving.
Of the 1,037 people injured in 2016, 78 were severely injured, 381 were moderately injured, and 578 sustained minor injuries.
Brig Al Mazroui said vehicles crashing into each other was the most common type of accident with 968 cases, with the highest number of fatalities (45), followed by run-over accidents with 190 cases and 29 deaths, and vehicles overturning with 13 deaths in 63 incidents.
A total of 771 vehicles were involved in traffic incidents in the first half of 2016 compared with 754 in the same period last year.
Private vehicles were involved in 502 accidents in 2016, while motorcycles were involved in 66 accidents, minibuses in 44, heavy trucks in 54, light weight trucks in 43, and taxis in 21.
“We carry out many traffic awareness campaigns throughout the year to continuously try to reduce the number of traffic fatalities,” he said, adding that it is crucial for people to abide by traffic laws that were created to safeguard their lives and the lives of others.
He said that Dubai Police also award safe drivers to promote good and safe driving through the white points system.
