UAE

Drink driving accidents up 43% in Dubai

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Driving under the influence of drugs had also caused 20 accidents, one death and seven injuries and damage to 32 cars.

There has been a troubling increase in the number of accidents caused by drink drivers, with over 40 per cent more instances between January and November this year than in previous year.

Dubai Police General Department of Traffic director Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin said the cases in Dubai caused 11 deaths and 65 injuries, four of which were serious, 20 were moderate and 60 minor injuries, as well as causing damage to 772 cars.

He said the damage and injuries were outcomes of the 324 traffic accidents caused by drunk driving, most of which happened at night.

Al Zafin said the police had recorded 423 cases against drink drivers, 43 per cent more than the previous year. During the same period last year, the Dubai traffic police recorded 295 drink driving accidents, which caused four deaths, 97 injuries, and damage to 517 cars.

Driving under the influence of drugs had also caused 20 accidents, one death and seven injuries and damage to 32 cars.

The news comes as the country tackles its driving record, aiming to get to zero road deaths by 2020. Khaleej Times this week started a weekly driving tips series in association with the country’s first online road safety platform Road Safety UAE, as part of a road safety campaign. The first installment was shared widely online, with 25,000 Facebook users reading the content.

Al Zafin said the traffic department would intensify its patrols to catch drivers who drove their cars under the influence of alcohol, because the violation was putting people’s lives in danger.

In other causes of accidents, Al Zafin said that making a sudden turn had topped the list of causes that led to traffic accidents in January and February as it reached 635 accidents resulting in 38 deaths and 589 minor to serious injuries. The traffic accidents that took place in Dubai during the past 11 months had slightly decreased, reaching 2,561 accidents, compared to 2,933 last year.

Road users’ inattention came in second place and caused 35 deaths and 312 injuries which resulted from 296 accidents, while 26 people were killed in 438 traffic accidents as a result of not leaving enough space between vehicles.

Al Zafin said there was a drop in traffic accidents caused by jumping red signals compared to the previous year. This year, 156 accidents led to six deaths and 238 injuries, damaging 447 cars, while 212 cases were recorded against drivers who jumped a red signal. Illegal entry onto a road caused 197 accidents which led to five deaths, while not staying in the correct lane was behind 182 accidents and led to five deaths. Speeding caused 42 traffic accidents and five deaths, and reckless driving led to 83 accidents and four deaths. Driving in the wrong direction caused 25 traffic accidents, two deaths and 29 injuries, while burst tyres caused eight accidents, two deaths and 11 injuries. Bad reversing caused one death out of 112 traffic accidents, a stray animal caused one death, and exhaustion was behind 72 traffic accidents which caused two injuries.

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