Does road safety improve in the UAE? – ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ (5th cycle)
· 5th cycle of uniqueperception study of UAE motorists
· All perceived road safety trends improve
· Despite good trends, the absolutelevels of perceived misbehavior are still high
· However, driving enjoyment declines
· Road infrastructure needs furtherimprovements
Dubai,United Arab Emirates, 30 September 2017-(AETOS Wire)- Does road safety improve in the UAE? This long-term study triesto find an answer to this question. All stakeholders who are involved inimproving road safety have been very active in 2017, but what is the verdict ofthe traffic participants? Does the penny drop with us motorists and do we seeimproved behavior on our roads?
Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE states: “Yes, the news is very positive! For the first time in thislong-term perception study (since 2015), all perceived behavior TRENDS point inthe right direction: UAE motorists observe less lane swerving, less speeding,less distracted driving, less tailgating and overall less reckless driving. Despitethese very positive trends, more needs to be done, as the ABSOLUTE levels ofperceived misbehavior are still high. The hard work of all involvedstakeholders must continue, especially with regards to education and creatingawareness for proper conduct!”.
Furthermore, commute times decrease and less respondents have beeninvolved in an accident than ever within the study period.
Surprisingly, and reversing a long-term trend, UAE motorists statea reduced overall driving enjoyment and a desire for further improved roadinfrastructure.
“It is very difficult to measure the impact of road safetyimprovement measures and we believe, that this long-term perception study is anexcellent tool to provide feedback to the concerned stakeholders, namelygovernmental entities, the media, corporations and awareness platforms likeRoadSafetyUAE. As the study tracks the perception trends linked to the mainkillers on our roads, the insights are priceless.”, Edelmann continues.
Thehighlights of the 5th cycle of the ‘UAERoad Safety Monitor’:
The study was commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured andconducted by YouGov in August 2017, based on the views of a representativesample of 1,010 UAE residents.
UAE motorists record the following healthy perception TRENDS withinthe last 6 months:
- Dangerous driving overall: -8%
- Tailgating: -12%
- Distracted driving: -10%
- Lane Swerving: -9%
- Speeding: -7%
- Involved in a collision: -5%
- Longer commute times: -10%
However, it must be stated, that despite the positive TRENDS, theABSOLUTE levels of perceived misbehavior are still very high.
The positive trends above are contrasted by surprising trendreversals with regards to:
- Driving Enjoyment: -5%
- Traffic infrastructure has improved:TREND -5% less than in the previous cycle, however a staggering 78% ABSOLUTE agreethat road traffic infrastructure has improved.
The details of the UAE RoadSafety Monitor can be found in the ‘featured’ section on: http://www.roadsafetyuae.com/statistics/. The studywill be repeated every six months with the next scheduled release in midQ1/2018.