New report reveals nearly 3 million vehicles now on UAE roads
A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that the amount of cars on the roads of UAE has nearly reached three million. The figures revealed in the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 showed that nearly 3.4 million vehicles are now registered in the UAE, with the large majority of the registrations made up from cars and light vehicles. 
The report also details the latest statistics for casualties on UAE roads, with 725 deaths occurring in road traffic collisions during 2016. The figures are compiled from data provided by the Ministry of Interior and reveal that of those deaths, three quarters were male.
The highest number of casualties were drivers of vehicles and pedestrians, with statistically around five deaths per 100,000 people.
The number of deaths occurring has been greatly reduced in the last decade, with figures from 2007 showing 17 deaths per 100,000 people. There is still room for improvement and the UAE is working with the WHO to try and bring the statistics down in the coming years.
The WHO report revealed that worldwide, the number of deaths on roads has increased, although this is relative to the population growth that has occurred. 3,700 people die on roads around the world every day, with 1.35 million deaths recorded each year. Accidents on the world’s roads are the largest killer of young adults and children across the globe, and the eighth leading cause of death for the world’s population.
World leaders have committed to try and halve the number of road deaths worldwide by 2020, as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The key areas identified to improve are: educating road users on the dangers of drink driving, helmet use for motorcycle drivers, and the importance of seat belt use.
The report also showed the UAE is one of the world’s leaders in restricting speeding motorists, achieving the highest rating of 10.
The UAE also received the highest rating for enforcing laws that cover motorcycle helmet use, seat belt requirements, and drink driving laws.
The WHO ratings were allocated by National Data Co-ordinators, who were nominated by their national governments and responsible for compiling the statistics used in the report.
