A study has found that Sharjah performs strongly on road safety, Abu Dhabi scores well for driving behaviour, and Dubai came out on top in driver training.
Photos by KT File
The UAE Best Driver Index, prepared by Bin Yaber Driving Institute, looked at road safety, driving education and behaviour across all seven emirates. It used several indicators, including fatalities, hit-and-run cases, average driving speed and the number of driving schools.
Sharjah strong on road safety
Sharjah recorded the lowest road fatality rate in the study, at 1.78 deaths per 100,000 residents.
It also had the lowest hit-and-run rate, at 5.33 cases per 100,000 residents. In total, Sharjah recorded 96 hit-and-run cases, compared with 223 in Abu Dhabi and 378 in Dubai.
Its average driving speed was 31.6kmph, according to the study.
These figures helped Sharjah perform strongly in the road safety part of the index. Road safety carried the highest weight in the study, making up 45 per cent of the total score.
Abu Dhabi performs well on driving behaviour
Abu Dhabi scored well for driving behaviour, helped by the lowest average driving speed among the seven emirates.
The average speed recorded in the capital was 28.3kmph, lower than Sharjah’s 31.6kmph and Dubai’s 32.1kmph.
Abu Dhabi also performed strongly on road safety. It recorded 3.25 fatalities per 100,000 residents and 5.88 hit-and-run cases per 100,000.
The study said Abu Dhabi’s lower average speed could be linked to traffic-control measures, including its zero-buffer policy on speed limits and changing speed limits on some roads depending on conditions.
Dubai strong in driver training
Dubai performed strongest when it came to driver training and education. The emirate had 94 driving schools, the highest number in the UAE. This compared with 56 in Sharjah and 30 in Abu Dhabi.
The study also looked at 50,818 reviews of driving schools in Dubai, with an average rating of 4.58.
Driving education made up 30 per cent of the overall index. The study considered the number of driving schools, their ratings and the number of reviews on Google Maps.
The study also showed some differences in the other emirates. Ajman had the second-lowest fatality rate, at 2.18 deaths per 100,000 residents. It also recorded the highest average driving-school rating, at 4.73.
Fujairah had the highest average driving speed at 38.1kmph, followed by Ajman at 37.9kmph and Ras Al Khaimah at 36.2kmph.
The researchers also warned that figures for smaller emirates should be read carefully. In places with smaller populations, even a small number of accidents can sharply increase the rate when calculated per 100,000 residents.
The index used seven indicators covering road safety, driving education, driving behaviour and interest in driving-test-related searches. Some of the main road safety and speed figures were based on 2024 data, while driving-school information was taken from Google Maps.
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SM Ayaz Zakir
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Ever...