Dubai road deaths down 11%

But the Ministry of Interior urge motorcyclists to adhere to traffic rules following another fatality this weekend.

Dubai // More than 100 people were killed on Dubai's roads in the first eleven months of this year - an 11 per cent drop from last year.

There were 108 fatal accidents up to the end of November, compared with 120 last year. But the Ministry of Interior said there were more accidents involving motorbikes, quad bikes and dune buggies.

There were 185 such crashes this year until December 15, resulting in 15 deaths and 168 injuries. In the same period last year there were 183 accidents, causing 12 deaths and leaving 173 people hurt.

A British motorcyclist died yesterday while trying to cross the other Dubai-Hatta road.

The man, in his 30s, was hit by a four-wheel-drive vehicle as he crossed at a gap in the central reservation near Al Awir roundabout at about 8.40am.

"I urge motorcyclists to adhere to the traffic rules," said Brig Ghaith Hassan Al Zaabi, director general of traffic co-ordination at the Ministry of Interior. "They should not dangerously overtake vehicles and drive recklessly or be involved in any other driving behaviour on the main and inner roads."

Dubai Police attributed the decrease in accidents to the efficiency of traffic patrols in monitoring roads and catching dangerous drivers.

Misjudgment topped the list of causes of fatal accidents, with 33 people killed as a consequence. Suddenly veering off the road was second, causing 18 deaths.

Road casualties in Dubai have dropped by more than two thirds since 2007, when 332 people died.

Two accidents involving quad bikes left three Emirati boys, aged between 17 and 19, injured in the early hours of yesterday. In both cases the bikes overturned in the desert near Al Waraqa, in Dubai.