Road accidents claim 21 lives in 72 hours

Road accidents claim 21 lives in 72 hours
By Alia Al Theeb, Mariam Al Serkal and Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporters GULF NEWS
Published: April 07, 2008, 00:35

Dubai/Sharjah/Abu Dhabi: A driver was killed in a horrific accident near National Paints bridge in Sharjah on Sunday, taking the death toll in road accidents nationwide to at least 21 in just 72 hours.

In Sunday's accident the driver rammed into a cement mixer, police said.

The weekend also saw a spate of accidents. A young Emirati was killed in Al Ain on Saturday when he was driving without a licence. An Asian woman died on Saturday when she was run over by a car while crossing the road on Shaikh Zayed Road.

A father and his two-year-old daughter were killed early Saturday when their car plunged into a pedestrian underpass in Abu Dhabi.

Three people were killed in a gruesome accident on Friday on Dubai's Al Khail Road when a sewage tanker first hit a minibus, which was then hit by a bus. A six-year-old Emirati boy died on Friday in Ras Al Khaimah when a heavy vehicle rammed into the car his father was driving.

But the worst accident occurred on Al Wagan Road in Al Ain on Thursday night in which 12 people were killed.

President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan yesterday offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

An official from the Dubai Police Traffic Department said speeding, failure to maintain proper distance between vehicles, driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving and lack of consideration for other drivers are the main reasons behind most road accidents.

Some 1,056 people were killed in traffic accidents in the UAE in 2007. According to Yahoo, more than 1 million people are killed worldwide, and more than 50 million are injured in traffic accidents each year.

Statistics: Too many offences

According to statistics, Dubai police's traffic department reported 33,886 traffic offences in Bur Dubai in March. The traffic control teams also confiscated 232 vehicles for violating traffic rules.

Major Ahmad Bin Delan, Director of Bur Dubai Traffic Department, said blocking traffic topped the list of offences with 8,033. He said this offence adds to traffic congestions.

Other traffic offences included lane line violation by light vehicles, reckless driving, parking on pavements, driving on the hard shoulder and jumping red signals.

Statistics from Abu Dhabi revealed 1,312 offences were committed from March 1 to 15.

These offences included speeding, jumping a red signal, reckless driving and entering a road dangerously.