Distracted driving is one of the five most common traffic offences that caused more than 2,000 accidents in the UAE last year, according to the Ministry of Interior.
According to figures made available on the ministry’s website, distracted driving, sudden swerving between lanes, and failing to maintain a safe distance between vehicles were high on the list of traffic offences recorded in the UAE in 2021.
Other law-breaking behaviours on the road included turning into a street without checking that it was clear to do so and jumping red lights.
These five traffic offences combined caused 2,493 accidents out of 3,488 crashes that occurred in 2021.
Data show that distracted driving was the reason behind 1,031 collisions while sudden swerving caused 548 accidents.
Not keeping a safe distance, also known as breaking distance, between cars was the cause of 484 crashes last year.
Failing to ensure a road is clear before entering it caused 335 crashes and jumping red traffic signals caused 95 accidents.
Road accidents in the country increased in 2021 to 3,488, up from 2,931 in 2020, although for much of 2020 residents were working from home, meaning traffic was much lighter than usual.
The accidents caused the deaths of 381 people last year and injured 2,620 people, compared with 256 deaths and 2,437 injuries in 2020.
List of traffic fines
Distracted driving
Dh400 fine and four points on the driver’s licence
Failing to maintain safe distance
Dh400 fine and four points on the driver’s licence
Sudden swerving
Dh1,000 and four points on the driver’s licence
Jumping a red traffic signal
Dh1,000 and 12 points on the driver’s licence
Entering roads without ensuring they are clear
Dh400 fine and four points on the driver’s licence
Everyone's responsibility
Thomas Edelmann, managing director of Road Safety UAE, said motorists must act responsibly to make the roads safer.
“All road users, whether drivers or pedestrians, must take the responsibility of making sure are were safe and everyone around them is safe too because every single road death is one too many,” Mr Edelman said.
“We still see a lot of misbehaviour on the road. We must avoid that anyone dies on the road and we have been trying to do that with raising awareness, better laws, and more enforcement,” he said.
“Everyone involved, like the government and us at Road Safety, are trying to pull their weight because about 95 per cent of accidents happen because of human error.”
He said motorists have to improve their behaviour when it comes to driving.
The UAE has made huge efforts over the past few years to improve road safety through its system of motorway radars, fines, improving priority for pedestrians and public awareness campaigns to educate motorists about road safety.
Abu Dhabi Police regularly post CCTV videos showing incidents on the emirate's roads to warn drivers of potential dangers.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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