Tailgating caused 11 deaths on Dubai’s roads, police say

DUBAI// Eleven people were killed in the first five months of this year in road incidents caused by tailgating, while police issued almost Dh8 million in fines and nearly 80,000 black points to motorists.

Lt Col Homoud Al Amiri, director of the awareness campaigns unit at the General Department of Traffic, said tailgating is the third leading cause of fatalities on the roads behind sudden swerving and speeding.

Of the 26 people killed last year because of tailgating, eight were Emirati.

Motorists caught tailgating are fined Dh400 with 4 black points. Dubai Police issued almost 70,000 fines in 2014, and have so far handed out 19,975 this year. Most incidents occur on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road followed by Emirates Road.

In a campaign to crack down on tailgaters, officers patrol highways in unmarked vehicles and issue fines to offenders.

“Most of the time, motorists start to behave and drive properly when they see a police car and this is why we want to use civilian-looking vehicles,” said Lt Col Al Amiri.

Dubai Police received 1,714 complaints against tailgaters via the We Are All Police app in 2014, and 647 in the first four months of this year.