ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, May 11th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

The results of the first quarter of this year (three months), compared to the same period of last year showed a significant improvement in the levels of traffic safety in Abu Dhabi, as the casualties decreased by 28%, from 88 deaths to 63 deaths with a decrease of 25 deaths. Critical injuries went down 11% from 88 injuries to 78 with a decrease of 10 injuries, according to a statistic from the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police.

Brigadier Eng. Hussein Ahmed Al Harithi, Director of Traffic and Patrols Directorate stated that traffic accidents decreased by 3% from 547 accidents to 533. He also said that the average number of deaths has improved for every 10000 vehicles by 31% despite the fact that the number of registered vehicles has increased during this period by 3% from 830148 vehicles to 857114, and that was the best result achieved during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period from last year.

Al Harithi explained that accidents that happened during the first quarter of this year varied between run overs, collision and swerving. The most dangerous of these accidents was the collision as it resulted in 33 deaths, followed by run over accidents with 22 deaths and swerving with 8 deaths. He pointed that one of the most important reasons of those accident was not giving priority for pedestrians crossing, sudden lane changing, over speeding without consideration to the condition of the road, tires exploding, and not leaving enough safety space.

Al Harithi linked the improvement in traffic safety indicators in Abu Dhabi to the implication of the comprehensive plan of the Directorate that includes 6 key pillars, known as 6Es+I. It refers to (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency, Evaluation and Engagement). The plan fully implements integrated improvement and enhancement mechanisms for the traffic safety awareness levels, with a stress on continuous evaluation and modification of procedures when needed.

Al Harithi reviewed the efforts that led to the improvement of the traffic safety and the commitment to traffic laws. These efforts also led to putting limits on over speeding and on causes leading to accidents during the mentioned period, through a comprehensive plan for traffic control on inner and outer roads, by increasing the number of in person fines issued to drivers as they have positive effects on the drivers’ behavior.

Al Harithi pointed that the directorate has installed 185 new radars all around Abu Dhabi and Al Ain during the first quarter of the year, as a part of a comprehensive plan to increase automated traffic control devices. It also aims to implement a system of electronic control to detect traffic law violators and to distribute it on roads in the emirate, and limit the risk factors at the road intersections for every 5 kilometers of the geographical information system of roads.

He also pointed that the field efforts to prevent over speeding that summed up to 84% of the fines issued during the mentioned period. Intensifying surveillance also resulted in impounding 1469 vehicles for dangerous driving with speeds that exceeded 200 km/h on the inner and outer roads of the emirate.

Al Harithi mentioned that the efforts were coupled with intensifying traffic awareness raising through a number of educational lectures to the targeted categories. This led to increasing it by approximately 30%, and the number of beneficiaries increased by approximately 184% within a comprehensive plan for raising awareness that aimed at increasing traffic awareness and culture for saving lives and properties. This came in the context of renewing the call upon the different segments of the society, and especially the youth, to modify their traffic-related practices, in addition to intensifying awareness through the Abu Dhabi traffic Program to Reduce Traffic Accidents (Together) so that awareness raising include all the society segments.

Al Harithi said that the efforts also aimed at supporting responsibility and community solidarity to achieve an integrated system of traffic safety by launching 12 community initiatives, with one initiative every month, such as (everyone has right to the road – let us be like them – there is a baby on board – you are the pillars of the country, and other initiatives) and choosing around 100 public figures from different age groups and different social categories as ambassadors of traffic safety to activate community partnership.

Al Harithi urged the society segments and the traffic safety ambassadors to enhance the exerted efforts and spread traffic culture, and called upon motorist to abide by the traffic laws and not to commit violations that lead to accidents such as over speeding on internal and external roads, being cautious while driving, not to use mobile phone while driving, committing to road lines, leaving a sufficient safety distance between vehicles, not to cross the red traffic signal, wearing the seatbelt and giving priority to pedestrians.

Accidents of Wednesday and Thursday

Traffic indicators revealed that Wednesday and Thursday are the most days of the week that witness traffic accidents, amounting to 17% of the total number of accidents, followed by Sunday with 16%, then Saturday and Friday 15%, Monday 11%, and Tuesday 10%, and that the time of the day that witnesses the highest number of traffic accidents is that between 8 am to 4 pm, and the level of committing traffic violation is also higher at the same period.

Traffic indicators also revealed statistics of those who cause accidents according to the age group: the youths of the age group (18 – 30) constituted 46% of the total number of those who caused accidents; 52% of them were Emirati citizens. The number of in person fines that were issued to individuals of this age group was approximately 39%, and Emirati citizens constituted around 50% of this age group, which means that they are the segment that received the highest number of in person fines.

It is worth mentioning that the traffic studies that were adopted by the Traffic and Patrols Directorate in Abu Dhabi Police are among the main items used in analyzing data and precisely identifying the causes of traffic accidents, as well as suggesting solutions and doing modification, if needed, in implementing the work plan and the effective procedures to improve traffic safety.

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

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