In the last six months, as many as one in five drivers in the United Arab Emirates had some kind of car accident, according to the most recent survey from YouGov.
The study, which is based on the perceptions of 1,000 UAE residents, discovered that a growing number of the nation’s motorists believe that driving is getting more and more dangerous in the Emirates.
Speeding, sudden lane changes and tailgating are some of the reasons cited by motorists as the causes for their growing concern.
Although the figures are worrying, the study did reveal some good news, with a greater number of motorists enjoying the experience of driving in the UAE and travel times also having been reduced.
Traffic incident surveys have been released every two years by YouGov since 2015 in the UAE.
The nation’s Road Safety Monitor oversees the surveys, which campaign group Road Safety UAE commissions together with insurance company Noor Takaful.
The country is attempting to drastically reduce the number of fatalities caused by road accidents, making it essential to stay current on the exact figures relating to traffic incidents.
Road Safety UAE managing director Thomas Edelmann says that making the roads of the country safer can be done by encouraging the correct behaviour and responsible use of the road.
Although the study does feature positive insights, Edelmann says that it is clear that there is still much to do in regard to improving the driving behaviour of local motorists.
When the study was originally launched four years ago, 54% of drivers thought that the roads of the UAE were getting increasingly dangerous.
This fell to just 40% last year but has risen again in the 2019 study to as much as 43%.
19% of those surveyed in the latest report say that they had been involved in a traffic accident in the UAE in the last six months.
However, warning drivers to not use mobile phones while they are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle seems to be working, according to the survey results.
The first survey of the first half of this year showed that 68% of those responding had spotted other motorists still using their mobile phones or engaging in other distractions while driving.
Although the figure is still high, it is a big reduction from the 2016 figure of 79%.
Injuries and fatalities resulting from car accidents have stayed high in recent years, but even there the numbers have dropped significantly.
Road traffic death rates fell in 2017, partly because of road safety campaigns in the UAE, but the country has also started to crack down on those who violate traffic safety rules.
A stricter traffic law was introduced across all cities in the country two years ago in 2017 that saw up to Dh2,000 in fines for speeding and reckless driving as well as the threat of cars being impounded.
As the study shows, accidents can and do happen in the UAE, which makes it all the more important to take out car insurance to protect yourself financially from such events.