(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Report says young motorists men more likely to have been involved in accidents; 43 per cent of young drivers claim that they get distracted while driving.
Reckless driving is gaining speed in the UAE and more youngsters who take to the wheel are responsible for crashes. A new survey says four out of five people (77%) believe that there are more reckless motorists on UAE roads than five years ago.
The survey of 1007 UAE drivers found 35 per cent of respondents have been involved in a collision with men (38%) far more likely than women (27%) to have been involved in a road accident banishing the myth that men are better drivers than women.
Young motorists were also more likely to have been involved in a collision saidthe second set of findings from a study released on Wednesday by global insurer Zurich and RoadSafetyUAE.com.
Despite only being behind the wheel for a maximum of six years 36 per cent of young drivers (aged 18 to 24) reported that they had already been involved in an accident in the UAE. In part this high total may be caused by the 43 per cent of young drivers who claim that they get distracted while driving.
In the first eight months of 2014 there were 3170 accidents on the roads which resulted in the injury of 4602 people and 463 deaths according to data from the Ministry of Interior.
More than two-thirds of respondents believe that the biggest cause of road accidents in the UAE is speeding (68%) followed by tailgating (56%) and drivers being distracted instead of being fully focused on the road (47%).
Speeding is proven to increase both the risk and intensity of a road accident. Yet only 50 per cent of road users aged 18 to 24 believe speeding is a significant cause of accidents compared with 74 per cent of respondents aged over 40. This indicates that young drivers do not yet fully appreciate the risks of driving too fast.
Commenting on the results of the research Brian Reilly CEO of Zurich Insurance Middle East said: “The number of UAE residents that have been involved in a traffic collision is very concerning and unfortunately this supports the belief that there are more reckless drivers on UAE roads than five years ago. What is particularly worrying is the high proportion of young drivers who have had an accident despite the short timeframe they have been behind the wheel. Both speed and tailgating are verified causes of road accidents and we would encourage all road users to drive at a suitable speed and maintain a safe distance from other cars.”
Thomas Edelmann founder of RoadSafetyUAE.com stated: “Across the UAE there needs to be a cultural shift in driving attitudes to ensure motorists take responsibility for their own behaviour and look out for one another on the roads. It is alarming to see a perception among UAE residents that there are more reckless drivers today than five years ago. Taking unnecessary risks and driving carelessly is a major cause of crashes which should be of upmost concern to all motorists and passengers. We urge traffic participants to commit to safe driving by signing our on-line pledge ‘Make UAE Roads Safer!’ on www.RoadSafetyUAE.com.”—newskhaleejtimes.com