DUBAI 18 March 2018: Dangerous driving on the roads in the UAE is coming down – in small percentages yet – but steadily, according to a new report.
The 6th cycle of the ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ delivers “very positive trends” for UAE’s road safety. It seems that the perception of UAE motorists goes hand-in-hand with the remarkable reduction of traffic fatalities in 2017, down by about 30 per cent vs. 2016, according to media reports quoting MOI data.
Commute times – a constant hot topic – keeps decreasing for 5 cycles in a row. Very positive is also the reduction in the number of motorists having been involved in traffic accidents.
For the last 2 cycles and reversing long-term trends, UAE motorists lament a reduction in overall driving enjoyment and also wish for further improvements in road infrastructure.
The highlights of the 6th cycle of the ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’:
UAE motorists record the following healthy perception trends during the last 6 months:
- Dangerous driving overall: -3%
- Lane Swerving: -11%
- Distracted driving: -9%
- Speeding: -8%
- Tailgating: -5%
- Involved in a collision: -1%
- Commute times: -10%
However, it must be stated that despite the positive trends through the 6 cycles of the survey, the absolute levels of perceived misbehavior are still high.
The positive trends stated above are contrasted by trend reversals with regards to:
- Driving Enjoyment: -6%
- Improvement in traffic infrastructure: -10%
The study was commissioned by i-Insured and RoadSafetyUAE and was conducted by YouGov in February 2018, based on the views of a representative sample of 1,004 UAE residents.
The long-term ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ survey which started in 2015 links the perception of UAE motorists to the main causes of road accidents. Perception counts! Hence, this perception study provides valuable feedback about the impact of the involved stakeholders’ efforts aimed at increasing road safety.
Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE states: “It seems that the ongoing and hard work of all stakeholders like governmental entities, the media, corporations and platforms like RoadSafetyUAE have started bearing fruit. UAE motorists perceive less dangerous driving, less lane swerving, less tailgating, less speeding and less distracted driving on our roads.”
Frederik Bisbjerg, Executive Vice President Retail i-Insured adds: “All this is really good news! However, despite these positive trends, more needs to be done, as the absolute levels of perceived misbehavior are still high. The dedicated work of all stakeholders must continue, especially with regards to educating UAE’s road users by creating more awareness for proper conduct.”