Majority of road accident victims Emirati

ALARMING FIGURES: The majority of victims of car crashes in the UAE are young Emiratis, the DPE has said. Picture of illustrative purposes only. (Getty Images)

Most victims of road accidents in the United Arab Emirates are young Emiratis despite the fact that UAE nationals make up just 15 percent of the Gulf state's population, Abu Dhabi's Department of Planning and Economy (DPE) has revealed.

The DPE said on Saturday in its weekly report carried by state news agency WAM that the number of fatal road accidents in the UAE jumped 27 percent to 1,056 in 2007, up from 830 in 2005.

The department said one person dies every eight hours as a result of road accidents, blaming the high number of fatalities on speeding.

It said "most of those victims were young UAE nationals", without being more specific.

The department described the figures as "alarming".

The department said that around 25 out of every 100 people in UAE road accidents die.

The DPE said the fatality ratio was three times higher than in many Western counties.

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