ABU DHABI // The number of road deaths in Abu Dhabi has fallen by 16 per cent during the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year.
Since the start of the year there have been 54 deaths compared to 64 last year.
Serious injuries were down from 72 to 38 — a 47 per cent decrease.
The total number of traffic accident fell by 11 per cent, according to Brigadier General Hussein Ahmed Al Harthi, director general of central operations at Abu Dhabi Police.
According to Al Ittihad, The National's Arabic sister publication, Brig Gen Al Harthi attributed the decrease in fatalities and casualties to the continued implementation of the integrated traffic safety plan, awareness campaigns and an integrated strategy for traffic regulation, in addition to the widespread use of radars and other traffic monitoring systems.
He said that the main causes of traffic accidents during the first quarter of the year were sudden swerving, excessive speed, reckless driving (13 per cent), failure to observe a safe distance between cars (11 per cent), failure to commit to one lane (9 per cent), negligence and inattention (8 per cent), passing red lights (5 per cent), and entering an occupied street (4 per cent).
Young motorists, between the ages of 18-30, caused the most accidents.
They were responsible for 48 per cent of accidents, followed by age category 31 to 45-year-olds who were responsible for 36 per cent of all accidents.
Thirty-five per cent of offenders were Emirati, followed by Asians at 34 per cent and 20 per cent were Arab nationals.
The director general urged all motorists to observe speed limits and warned against excessive speed.
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