Drivers in Sharjah have topped a national index that assesses safety and behaviour on the roads.
Analysis by Dubai-based Bin Yaber Driving Institute assessed seven key indicators from publicly available data and evaluated performances at driving schools across the UAE.
Instructors assessed competence, quality of education, road safety, driving behaviour and public interest in driving-related topics.
Indicators in each group were scored on a scale of 0–100, with higher overall scores in each emirate indicating stronger driving education systems, safer roads and more cautious behaviour behind the wheel.
Driver education figures compiled for each emirate were gathered using listings on Google Maps.
It focused on motoring-related businesses categories, such as driving schools or driver’s license training centres, and assessed reviews for each establishment.
Motorists in Sharjah scored the highest, with an overall mark of 84.4, reflecting the UAE’s strongest road safety performance.
Their relatively low average driving speed was a factor in the strong performance, although high levels of congestion in the emirate may well play a part in the slower pace.
Abu Dhabi drivers came second, scoring 82.2, and also recorded the lowest average driving speed of 28.3kph.
Dubai was third on the list overall with a total of 80.3 points. However, the emirate also had the most hit-and-run accidents of all the emirates with 378, compared with just 96 in Sharjah, throughout 2024.
Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah were placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, on the Bin Yaber list. The index had Umm Al Quwain in seventh and last place with a score of 17.6.
Driving up standards
Jaber Al Harbi, managing director of Bin Yaber Driving Institute, said driving standards had improved considerably in the last decade.
“We have been training drivers in this country long enough to remember what the roads used to look like, and it is genuinely a different environment now,” he said.
“Drivers today are more disciplined, better trained and more aware of the risks than they used to be. A few things have moved together to get us here.
“Driving schools have become more accessible and genuinely better at preparing people, not just getting them through a test. Enforcement has also got sharper and Abu Dhabi is a good example of that.”
Road Safety UAE commissions a national driver behaviour study every two years or so, with the most recent figures from 2024 finding Sharjah had the safest drivers.
The next UAE Road Safety Monitor evaluation is due later this year.
“Indeed, Sharjah scores best when compared to the UAE average in most dimensions like perceived levels of dangerous driving overall, speeding, tailgating and distracted driving,” said Thomas Edelman, managing director of Road Safety UAE.
“Sharjah also scores higher and above the UAE average for perceived lane swerving, which in 2025 also became the number one cause of major accidents. It is also above average for motorists having been in an accident within the last six months.”
An assessment of road safety during the summer months by the Bin Yaber Driving Institute found several common mistakes made by new drivers were contributing to accidents across the country.
Worn tyres, using a mobile phone at the wheel, illegal window tints, not wearing a seat belt, tailgating, overloading a vehicle, rubbernecking and failing to take correct safety precautions during a breakdown were all contributing to more accidents during summer.
UAE asphalt can reach surface temperatures of 70°C to 80°C in summer, and worn tyres heat up faster, lose grip and blow out, with less warning than in cooler months.
Mr Al Harbi, from the Bin Yaber Driving Institute, one of Dubai's largest Roads and Transport Authority-licensed training centres, said years of road safety initiatives had improved Sharjah's driving standards.
“Sharjah drivers earned the top spot in our index and honestly it comes down to discipline more than anything flashy,” he said.
“They drive at a measured pace, they are the least likely in the country to flee the scene when something goes wrong and Sharjah's fatality numbers are the lowest of any emirate.
“Add a strong base of driving schools in Sharjah on top of that, and you get an environment that quietly produces some of the best drivers in the UAE.”
UAE road safety rankings by emirate
1. Sharjah (84.4/100)
Sharjah has the lowest death rate (1.78) on the roads and hit-and-run incident rate (5.33) per 100,000 residents. The average driving speed of 31.6km per hour is at the safer end of the spectrum, which may be due to heavy traffic, but also indicates a more cautious driving behaviour.
2. Abu Dhabi (82.2)
Abu Dhabi has the best driving behaviour, represented by its low average driving speed of 28.3kph, making the emirate’s roads relatively safe. Abu Dhabi has the next best road safety composite score among the emirates, with a distinctly low number of deaths (3.25) and hit-and-run incidents (5.88) per 100,000 residents.
3: Dubai (80.3)
Dubai has the best driving-education system in the UAE. The emirate has around two thirds more driving schools than Sharjah and more than three times as many as Abu Dhabi.
Dubai recorded 4.22 deaths and 10.11 hit-and-run incidents per 100,000 residents in 2024, with an average speed of 32.1kph – faster than motorists in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
4. Ajman (68.3)
Ajman sits solidly in the middle of the rankings for driving education. While it has the second-lowest death rate of 2.18 road deaths per 100,000 residents, it has an above-average 10.7 hit-and-run incidents per 100,000 residents.
With an average driving speed of 37.9kph, Ajman drivers tend to go faster than motorists in all other emirates except Fujairah.
5. Ras Al Khaimah (61.8)
Ras Al Khaimah rates similarly to Sharjah in accessibility and quality of driving education. However, it performs worse in the much weightier death rate of 8.7 per 100,000 residents. This is a little more than twice Dubai’s fatality rate and the second highest in the UAE.
6. Fujairah (42.9)
Fujairah’s position near the bottom of the index is primarily due to its minimal driving-education footprint and only two driving schools.
The emirate’s roads are not the safest, with above-average death rates and hit-and-run incidents, and the highest average driving speed in the UAE.
7. Umm Al Quwain (17.6)
Umm Al Quwain sits bottom for death and hit-and-run incident rates. Specifically, UAQ logs 36.62 deaths and 34.58 hit-and-run incidents per 100,000 residents.
