Drivers switching lanes without warning was the single biggest cause of fatal traffic accidents in Dubai so far this year, according to Dubai Police.
Twenty-four of the 122 fatalities on the emirate’s roads were the result of people suddenly swerving into a different lane without indicating or checking their mirrors, 7Days reported on Wednesday.
Such careless driving is a “deadly traffic offence”, Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of the Traffic Department at Dubai Police, was quoted as saying.
He said: “Sudden swerving is still the main reason behind deaths on roads despite our campaigns to educate motorists to use indicators and not change lanes until it’s safe.
“Sudden swerving caused 461 major accidents in 2015 [in addition to the 24 deaths] and we hope the number won’t be more in the coming months.”
The newspaper also reported that drink driving has accounted for 430 crashes and seven deaths this year, and speeding has caused 54 accidents and seven deaths.
Last year, 177 people died on Dubai’s roads – 45 of them from swerving into another lane without warning.
In total, there have been 2,258 major accidents on Dubai roads compared to 2,588 during 2014.
A total of 4,242 vehicles have been involved in crashes in 2015 and 1,587 people have been injured, compared to 2,495 people in 2014.
But the emirate wants to cut traffic accident-related deaths to zero by 2020.
Al Mazroui said: “This year the numbers are showing a reduction in deaths on our roads. We will carry out our strategy to reduce the number of deaths on the roads with more campaigns and patrols to get to our target – which is zero deaths.”
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