Yahoo News 
Survey reveals Abu Dhabi’s ‘worrying’ accident stats
Half of all men living in Abu Dhabi have been involved in a car crash in the past year, a new study has revealed.
Hundreds of male and female drivers were polled and asked to be open and honest in their responses on accidents and driving habits. The findings show 49 per cent of male respondents had been in a smash in the past 12 months, with 18 per cent saying someone was injured in the crash.
For women, 34 per cent reported being involved in a crash, with 13 per cent saying someone was injured. Egyptian driver Mohammed Fawzi, 36, said: “I was involved in an accident almost a year ago. I was hit by someone who was attempting an illegal U-turn. Thankfully I only suffered very minor injuries, but it could have been avoided if that person was following the rules.”
Emirati motorist Ali Nasser, 28, said: “I got into a minor car accident a few weeks ago in heavy rain. I was slowing down because the car in front of me braked unexpectedly, and I got rear-ended by the car behind me. None of us were injured. The rain can make the roads very dangerous in the UAE, so I wouldn’t place the blame on anyone in this case.”
The survey also found that 17 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women admitted drink driving in the past month, and called for more alcohol tests of motorists.
A report on the survey, by the UK’s Cardiff Metropolitan University with support from Abu Dhabi Police, described the high incidence of drink driving “very worrying”.
Currently, UAE police only test for alcohol after an accident or if they suspect a driver has been drinking. The research team was led by Abdulla Hammoudi of Cardiff University, in cooperation with two Abu Dhabi Police civilian employees, who distributed questionnaires in English and Arabic to motorists. Each respondent was told that the information could not be used against them. In total, 291 people replied.
When quizzed, 1 per cent of both men and women admitted they had been drink driving three times in the past month, the team said. They said the figures were “very surprising” because UAE traffic accident statistics don’t record how many accidents are caused by drink driving because of presumed low numbers.
“It should be investigated whether stricter penalties for drink driving could be introduced, including testing drivers for alcohol content after all forms of accidents,” the report added. British expat Maurice T, who asked not to use his full name, said he was “100 per cent opposed” to more drink-drive testing in the capital.
“It can ruin someone’s livelihood to arrest someone for half a glass of wine,” he said. “By all means prosecute anyone who had an accident – they deserve it. But spare the innocent,” he said.
However, teacher Alona M, said: “Anything the police do to stop it is fine by me.”
sean@7days.ae
RELATED LINKS:
Traffic accidents ‘caused by female drivers’ increasing, say Abu Dhabi police
