Post updated 16-May-2024
‘Data are the basis of understanding‘, and meaningful initiatives must be grounded in proper understanding, hence the importance for much and quality data! It’s quite a challenge to find data & statistics when it comes to road safety in the UAE.
Hence, we started our own research projects which we feature below in:
FEATURED research and
A) Research commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE (and our CSR-Partners)
B) UAE Data from external sources (please SCROLL DOWN!)
FEATURED research:
- May 2024: MOI shared the 2023 road accident data which we analyzed and shared with the key media who in turn covered our press release in a prominent manner.
- Here is the press release: 2023 MOI Road Statistics Released – Fatalities near ‘All Time Low’, Injuries and Accidents increase
- Here is the coverage in the key media:
-
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/05/03/accidents-on-uae-roads-rose-in-2023/
- https://gulfnews.com/uae/transport/revealed-reasons-behind-4391-road-accidents-in-uae-1.102441397
- https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2024/05/03/uae-road-accidents-injuries-on-the-rise-but-deaths-near-all-time-low-report
- https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-road-deaths-up-by-3-due-to-misbehavior
A) Research commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE (and our CSR-Partners):
- February 2024: Distracted Driving is the main killer on UAE roads. But WHAT distracts us? We commissioned a YouGov Study jointly with our CSR-Partner Al Wathba Insurance.
- Here is the press release – click here!
- The Excel Sheets with the details can be found here!
- January 2024: Jointly with our CSR-Partner Al Wathba National Insurance Company, we ran the 10th Cycle of the unique ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’
- Here is the press release – click here!
- Here are the details of the Cycles 1-10 in Excel Format – click here!
- March 2022: Jointly with our CSR-Partner OnStar and Future Mobility at General Motors Africa and Middle East, we ran a first-ever unique research on the psychological impact of car accidents on drivers in the UAE, the emotions and needs of car accident victims in the seconds right after the accident.
- This is the first part working on understanding the crash victims
- The UAE’s leading media covered the research well, for example Khaleej Times
- December 2021: ‘Running Late – main culprit for reckless driving’ – a joint research initiative with our CSR-Partner Volkswagen to uncover more details about the root cause for much of the misbehavior we see on our roads.
- Great media coverage with lots of the data points we found: Dubai Eye 103.8, Gulf News, Khaleej Times
- September 2021: ‘UAE motorists face high levels of driver anxiety’ – we teamed up with our CSR-Partner Volkswagen to understand this important issue of road safety.
- Some examples of media coverage with the main findings of the study: ARN news center, The National
- March 2021: ‘Are females the better drivers? (International Women’s Day 2021)’. We compared the behavior patterns of female motorists vs. the behavior of males.
- The leading media covered this research greatly: Gulf News, Khaleej Times, The National
- December 2020: In the 2nd part of the ‘First-Ever’ UAE Car Occupancy Study, we zoomed in on the UAE School Run Patterns, which are a key ingredient to morning rush hours.
- Press Release including the used excel data (fieldwork conducted by YouGov): click here
- October 2020: ‘First-Ever’ UAE Car Occupancy Study. Traffic congestion is a key factor in road safety, as traffic jams lead to an increase in impolite and dangerous behavior. It also comes at a cost to economies in the form of lost working hours, causes inconvenience to drivers with extra travel time and creates an unnecessary toll on the environment. Hence, from a road safety perspective as well as from a sustainability standpoint, traffic jams need to be avoided.
- Press Release: ‘First-Ever’ Car Occupancy Survey in the UAE – FINAL English
- Excel Data of the research: Car Occupants Study for Portal March 2020
- Excel Data of selected global cities for benchmarking: Modes of Transportation UAE vs Selected Global Cities
- April 2020: Research and Press Release about the situation in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New York, London, Paris and Rome: “COVID-19 Measures Dramatically Reduce Road Traffic and Congestion (TomTom data April Week 1+2 2020 vs 2019)”
- Excel Data: COVID-19 Measures Dramatically Reduce Road Traffic and Congestion (TomTom data April Week 1+2 2020 vs 2019)
- Press Release: COVID-19 Measures Dramatically Reduce Road Traffic and Congestion (TomTom Data April Week 1+2 2020 vs 2019)
- November 2019: ’2019 ‘Year of Tolerance’ – how tolerant are UAE motorists?(research study)’
- Excel data overview: 2019 ‘UAE Year of Tolerance’ … How Tolerant are UAE Motorists (Research Study)
- November 2019: ‘Dangerous Driving Increases Slightly, but Remains on Relatively Low Level – ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ (8th cycle)’ The results of the 8th cycle of the unique and long-running ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ study once again underline the authorities’ efforts to further improve the country’s road infrastructure and this directly contributes to all-time-high values for driving enjoyment and a slight decrease in commute times. However, the study once again points out the (mis)behavior of motorists, stating a slight increase in the perception of dangerous driving overall, but thankfully still on a relatively low level over the 8 cycles since 2015.
- Excel data overview: Cycle 1 to 8 ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ – Oct 2019 – for Press Release
- Press release: Dangerous Driving Increases Slightly on Relatively Low Levels – 8t Cycle ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ – ENGLISH
- April 2019: ‘UAE Young Drivers Behavior & Attitudes (Research)’ shares light on this vulnerable segment which accounts for 45% of all accidents (MOI). The research projects were conducted by an international on-line research company by using UAE-representative samples of n>1,000 between 2015 and 2018.
- 2018 November: ‘Research – UAE Seat Belt Usage ‘Before’ & ‘After’ the introduction of the new seat belt law’. We regard this new holistic seat belt law as a water-shed moment for UAE’s road safety. As of 1-July-2017 all passengers must wear seat belts. How has the seat belt usage changed before and after this new law?
- This survey was conducted with our CSR-Partner i-Insured (QIC Insured).
- 2018 October: ‘Research- UAE Motorists Behavior Must Match Authorities’ Efforts – ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ (7th Cycle)’. First big press release after summer with positive feedback for the constant improvement of road infrastructure, but negative feedback with an increase in reckless driving. We are grateful for the broad coverage in UAE’s leading media!
- Cycle 1 to 7 ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ – Oct 2018 – for PRL
- https://ameinfo.com/transportation/motorist/
- https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/transport/new-survey-shows-driving-habits-on-uae-roads-not-improving-1.2287393
- https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/transport/59-motorists-tailgate-on-dubai-roads-survey
- 2018 April: ‘Does the UAE have a safe driving culture?’; another ground-breaking study trying to uncover the status and ingredients for a safe UAE driving culture. Commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & i-Insured; conducted by Yougov
- 2018 March: ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor – 6th Cycle‘; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & i-Insured; conducted by Yougov
- 2017 November: Pioneering ‘Motorcycle Delivery Rider Survey’; we worked with 4x major UAE motorcycle delivery fleets to interview 222 of their riders for this ‘first-ever’ perception study.
- 2017 October: ‘Tailgating on UAE’s roads explained”; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & QIC Insured; conducted by Yougov
- 2017 August: ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor – 5th Cycle’; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & QIC Insured; conducted by Yougov
- 2017 May: ‘Ramadan – Claims/Accidents & Driving Tips’; RoadSafetyUAE teamed up with Gargash Insurance Brokers and QIC Insured to analyze the 2016 Ramadan insurance claims/accidents patters to give guidance for 2017 Ramadan.
- 2017 March and 2017 April: ‘UAE’s First Holistic Seat Belt Survey – Part 1 (Adults Behavior) & Part 2 (Children Related); commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & QIC Insured; conducted by YouGov
- 2017 March: ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ – 4th Cycle; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & QIC Insured; conducted by YouGov
- 2016 November: ‘Mobile Phones in the Car’ - Behavior Study. YouGov; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & Qatar Insured
- 2016 September: UAE Road Safety Monitor – 3rd Cycle; YouGov; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & Qatar Insured
- 2016 May: ‘Seat Belt Use in Chauffeur Driven Cabs (Careem, etc.) & Taxis‘ – ‘dip-stick’ SurveyMonkey research
- 2016 First Ever ‘Indicator-Use’ Research; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & Qatar Insured
- 2016 UAE Road Safety Monitor – 2nd Cycle; commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE & Qatar Insured
- 2015 Zurich & RoadSafetyUAE – ‘Reasons for Speeding unlocked’ – Press Release October 2015
- 2015 ‘Zurich RoadSafetyUAE Monitor’ Research Project on Safety, Collisions, Traffic, Fines and Enjoyment
- 2014 September – Zurich & RoadSafetyUAE.com Research Project on ‘Distracted Driving‘:
B) UAE Data from external sources (press clippings and 3rd party data resources):
- UAE has the best roads in the world! https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-best-roads.html
- UAE Road Fatalities
- 2023: 352 fatalities over a population of 10.17 (source – scroll down to 2023) represents 3.46 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants.
- 2022: 343 fatalities over a population of 10.08m (source) represents 3.4 fatalities per 100.000 inhabitants.
- 2021: UAE Road Traffic Fatalities as per https://www.moi.gov.ae/en/Open.Data.aspx: 381 fatalities. With a population number for the UAE of 9.99m (source) this equals 3.81 fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants (this metric is used by the UN to compare globally)\
- 2020: UAE Road Traffic Fatalities as per https://www.moi.gov.ae/en/Open.Data.aspx: 354 fatalities. With a population number for the UAE of 9.89m (source) this equals 3.58 fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants
- 2019: UAE Road Traffic Fatalities decline to 448 as reported by The National. This is great news! The UN Formula of fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants with an estimated UAE population number of 9.9 million (source => average of 7 data points) resulting in 4.53 fatalities /100,000 inhabitants.
- 2018: UAE Road Traffic Fatalities decline to 468, as reported by Gulf News - https://gulfnews.com/uae/distracted-driving-claimed-59-lives-in-2018-in-uae-1.61928217. This is great news! The UN Formula of fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants in this article is stated with 3.83 which points to a UAE population number of 12.25m used in the calculation. However, this number is rather around the 9.54m mark (https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/uae-population-statistics/), hence resulting in 4.91 fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants.
- 2017 UAE Road Traffic Fatalities: slightly different numbers were published my the media at different points during 2018:
- Nov 2018: revised UAE population figures published: “The UAE’s population was 9,304,277 as of December 31, 2017, announced the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics, an increase of 2 per cent from 2016″ (https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-population-crosses-93-million-1.1542898813765) => 525/9,304,277*100,000 = 5.64 fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants in 2017
- Earlier media reports / sources suggest different numbers:
- Period ending 23-Dec-2017: 525 fatalities (vs. 706 in the same period 2016)
- Period ending 23-Dec-2017: 4.4 road fatalities out of every 100,000 people
- Full Year 2017: road deaths index was 4.53 deaths per 100,000 people in UAE last year compared to 6.13 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016.
- Sources: https://www.dotemirates.com/en/details/1298459794?from=dot; https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/emergencies/nationwide-campaign-against-speeding-from-january-1-1.2148599; https://www.thenational.ae/uae/dubai-police-525-road-traffic-deaths-in-2017-1.691319
- 2016 UAE Road Accidents, Injuries and Fatalities
- With the population figures announced in November 2018 (see above): 725/9,121,840*100,000 = 7.95 fatalities /100,000 inhabitants
- Unfortunately, we have seen increased fatality rate in 2016 vs. 2015. We are yet to receive more details about the leading causes of accidents and once available, we will share here.
- Sources:
- http://www.gulftoday.ae/portal/779ea860-7064-478b-9e6f-3baeeee18698.aspx
- http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/two-people-die-every-day-on-uae-roads
- http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/712-killed-on-uae-roads-in-2014-2015-03-09-1.583541
- 2015 UAE Road Accidents, Injuries and Fatalities
- The great news is, that in 2015 all indicators point downwards! Meaning less accidents, injuries and fatalities … still, there is a long way to go! It is up to us, THE MOTORISTS to further improve these numbers!
- UAE 2015 Death / 100,000 population (UN formula) = 5.99
- Source for all data above: http://www.abudhabinews.net/index.php/sid/24215816
- The great news is, that in 2015 all indicators point downwards! Meaning less accidents, injuries and fatalities … still, there is a long way to go! It is up to us, THE MOTORISTS to further improve these numbers!
- UAE 2014 Death / 100,000 = 6.5; Road accidents killed 712 people in the UAE in 2014; 2.94m vehicles on the UAE roads in 2015 – up from 2.67m in 2013 – as published by UAE media:
- http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/712-killed-on-uae-roads-in-2014-2015-03-09-1.583541
- http://7daysindubai.com/two-killed-day-uae-road-accidents
- REMARK: using a published population number of 9,44 million (http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-arab-emirates-population/), the 2014 Death / 100,000 = 712/(9,440,000/100,000) = 7.5424
- UAE 2013 Deaths/100,000: 651 /(9,205,651/100,000) = 7.0717
- (sources: Wikipedia 2013 UAE population = 9,205,651; UAE MOI 2013 traffic deaths = 651)
- 2015 FY Data for Dubai and Abu Dhabi indicate lower accident and fatality rates!
- 16,300 traffic offences committed EACH DAY on UAE roads in the first 10 months of 2015
- Young drivers behind 63% of accidents in UAE
- 7DAYS Article 17-Nov-2105 – Queue Jumpers are crazy!
- Heavy vehicle accidents claim more than 200 lives in the last 15 years:
- 98% of passengers in car crashes were not wearing seat belts
- 2014 Full-Year Data UAE: Road accidents caused by women drivers in the UAE down
- 2014 Full-Year Data DUBAI: # cars registered, most dangerous roads, accidents
- 2014 December: Risk of using hands-free devices
- 2013 Full Year Data on traffic Accidents, Injuries, Deaths:
- 2013 FY Accidents caused by Nationality (MOI):
- 2013 UAE Pedestrian Toll by Nationality:
C) UAE Data (from various sources):
- Seat Belt study – March 2014:
- Seat Belt Study - S. Bendak & K. Al-Saleh (2012): Seat belt utilisation and awareness in UAE, International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, DOI:10.1080/17457300.2012.745575:
- Seat Belt Study - Effects of Seat Belt Usage on Injury Pattern and Outcome of Vehicle Occupants After Road Traffic Collisions: Prospective Study; Published online: 21 December 2011; Al-Ain and Tawam Hospitals
- http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068636
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621679/
- http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00268-011-1386-y#page-1
- Dubai Statistics – Accidents Section:
- General UAE Data:
- http://www.abudhabiroadsafetyforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/bader-Abu-Dhabi-Road-Safety-Implementation.pdf
- https://ded.abudhabi.ae/en/studies-indicators/Studies/The%20Causes%20of%20High%20Traffic%20Accidents%20in%20the%20Emirate%20of%20Abu%20D.pdf
- WHO Data Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 :
- Tony Bliss, Advisor, Global Road Safety Facility, The World Bank:
- Dr. Jens Thomsen,MPH, Section Head, Occupational and Environmental Health, Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD):
- A comparison with other leading causes of death – UAE in comparison with other countries:
Other Data we find relevant and interesting:
- General Data: Very comprehensive data base:
- Distracted driving – WHO:
- Distracted driving – Wikipedia:
- Johnson&Johnson with GM foundation:
- Australia case studies – corporate:
- Cost savings through increased road safety – Cost savings associated with 10 years of road safety policies in Catalonia, Spain:
