Abu Dhabi issues 4.6 million traffic fines in 2017

Abu Dhabi - Motorists not staying within lanes received the most fines, followed by those parking randomly.

Motorists in the emirate were slapped with a whopping 4.6 million traffic fines for violations in 2017, the Abu Dhabi Police revealed on Tuesday.

At a press conference at the Traffic and Patrol Directorate, Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, director of Abu Dhabi Police's Central Operations Sector, said drivers worked up a total of 4,557,532 fines last year.

However, the number has actually decreased, compared to 2016, which had 4,690,445 fines. "That's a small decrease in fines, but as it resulted in a much lesser fatality rate, this can be seen as a positive step."

Accidents also decreased by 12 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, dropping from 1,533 to 1,740. In 2017, 199 road fatalities occurred in Abu Dhabi, a 31 per cent drop from 2016's 289 deaths. Deaths from run-over accidents in 2017 were 50, a 21 per cent decrease from 63 in 2016.

Serious injuries in 2017 accidents were 149, compared to 159 in 2016, a decrease of four per cent.

The police announced that speeding tickets were also fewer compared to 2016, falling from 3,811,843 to 3,703,220.

The Abu Dhabi Police achieved one of 2017's crucial goals, noted Brigadier Al Dhaheri.

"The most important indicator here is that we stood at 5.7 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, less than the expected rate of 7.93 road deaths per 100,000. This is a huge reduction in fatalities."

Speeding, sudden turns

Speeding topped the list of traffic violations in 2017, at 79.8 per cent of the total fines. The young are also more reckless, as shown by the 44.8 per cent of all accidents committed by drivers aged 18-30.

The top causes of serious road accidents were: sudden manoeuvres, tailgating, not giving other road users and pedestrians enough space, breaking lane discipline, speeding and lack of attention behind the wheel.

But again, compared to 2016, sudden manoeuvres dropped by 18 per cent, tailgating by 9 per cent, and pedestrian-related accidents by 15 per cent.

Although fatalities, serious injuries and the overall traffic fines significantly decreased, negligence while driving and crossing the red light increased by three per cent.

"The results are all positive; the only negative that we have are negligence, mainly due to mobile phone use, as well as red light crossings, both increasing by three per cent in 2017 compared to 2016."

The Abu Dhabi Police also revealed the most recurring fines in 2017.

Not staying within lanes received the most fines, followed by random parking, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving without seatbelt and jaywalking by pedestrians. In 2016, it was driving without seatbelt that got the most fines.

Brigadier Al Dhaheri also stressed that the Abu Dhabi Police will continue to work on the 2016-20 traffic strategy, implemented by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. "The strategic priority is traffic safety, divided into five categories: vehicle safety, engineering works, education, training and awareness, emergency response and traffic enforcement."

The Abu Dhabi Police will continue to raise road safety awareness through programmes and platforms online and in real-time.

The forece will also launch its smart app this year. "In 2017, we focused heavily on raising traffic safety awareness to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities. That is what we will continue to do."

jasmine@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi