UAE road safety survey shows majority of summer crashes happen in evening rush hour

Accidents on UAE roads during the summer months are most likely to happen in the evening post-work rush hour, a new survey showed, with motorists aged between 30 and 40 most likely to be involved in a crash.

A joint survey between Road Safety UAE and Tokio Marine, one of the largest UAE auto insurers, examined the data of almost 2,500 insurance claims following accidents during July and August in 2021.

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They found the peak accident times are between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., followed by 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Most motorists involved in crashes are from India (51 percent), followed by the UAE, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines, while almost half (45 percent) of crashes are the fault of the third party.

Thomas Edelmann, the founder of Road Safety UAE, said summer brings “challenging driving conditions,” as road users are potentially dehydrated, roads are marked with tire debris more than usual, and climatic conditions pose further challenges.

“Motorists need to be especially careful in the time slot from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and in particular in the accident peak times 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., while 30-40 years old motorists are most prone to accidents,” he said. “We cannot let our guard down, as almost 50 percent of accidents we get involved in are the fault of other road users.”

He continued, “Summers in the UAE are quite taxing on vehicles, motorists, pedestrians, motorcycle riders and all other traffic participants, as well as on the traffic infrastructure.”

A general view Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, UAE December 9, 2015. Picture taken December 9, 2015. (Reuters)

Edelmann said the hot summer months are typically affiliated with high temperatures, high humidity and the occasional fog and sandstorms.

“The performance and reaction of our bodies can be different to normal, and we need to be mindful of it. Our vehicles need some special attention to perform well, and we need to be mindful about some operating procedures, considering safety and sustainability,” Edelmann added.|

He warned drivers to watch out for other “who might be affected by the adverse weather conditions, especially pedestrians, motorcycle riders and bicycle riders, as their ‘normal’ behavior might be impacted by hot temperatures and challenging road surface conditions.”

He continued, “in case of the occasional fog or sand storm, increase your attention, lower your speed, increase the distance to the vehicle in front of you and ‘expect the unexpected.”

Road rage in UAE

Earlier this year, Edelmann told Al Arabiya English that three in five motorists in the UAE have experienced road rage during their daily commute, while a quarter have admitted to losing their temper whilst driving due to reckless behavior on the roads.

Road safety campaigners say that three in five motorists in the UAE have experienced road rage during their daily commute. (Unsplash)

Road Safety UAE ran a YouGov survey about road tolerance and road rage and found, when prompted about being exposed to acts of road rage by other motorists, 64 percent of the 1,000 respondents claim to ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ be exposed to it.

Reflecting on their own behavior, 24 percent of UAE motorists admitted being driven into road rage by the reckless driving of others, and of those, 73 percent of respondents said they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ fall into road rage themselves, 63 percent witness others ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ falling into road rage and 58 percent observe rude retaliating driving or stopping/blocking traffic as an act of road rage.

Furthermore, “36 percent witness obscene gestures and 24 percent witness foul language,” said Edelmann

Of those quizzed, 50 percent of respondents think that road users are tolerant to each other in general, however, more than one in three (35 percent) witness deliberate and egoistic acts like reckless driving, bullying, jumping the queue, and tailgating.

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