ABU DHABI // A woman who hit a pedestrian at a crossing drove through three signals before seeing him hanging off her bonnet, prosecutors say.
The pedestrian later died, Rashid Al Neyadi, head of Abu Dhabi traffic prosecutions, said on Wednesday.
Another woman, who hit a mother and daughter at a crossing, said they should have been using an overpass or tunnel.
“She said, ‘the state has built pedestrian overpasses and tunnels, why did they not cross there?’” said Mr Al Neyadi.
“But when we checked the footage the victims were crossing at the zebra crossing. As a result of this crash, the mother suffered amnesia and the daughter passed away.”
There were two pedestrian deaths in the first three months of this year, compared with one for the same period in 2014. All three were caused by women.
In releasing the latest figures, Mr Al Neyadi also said national service contributed to a 42 per cent drop in the number of traffic offenders in courts this year.
“We would like to thank the Defence Ministry for the national service decision, as we have sensed its influence on a drop in offences by those aged between 18 and 30,” Mr Al Neyadi said.
He said drivers in this age group had caused 44 per cent of the 136 severe traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year.
Mr Al Neyadi said that the penalty for not giving way to pedestrians – Dh500 and six black points – was not enough of a deterrent.
“In my opinion, the fine should be no less than Dh3,000 so the person will be forced to actually stop and check the pedestrians’ path,” he said.
Twenty-two per cent of serious accidents in the first three months involved pedestrians being run over. Mr Al Neyadi said all of the victims were killed crossing the road in the proper manner, and that the drivers showed no signs of braking before or after the crashes.
“When we checked the footage there was not a moment where brakes were pressed, which means they did not see the pedestrian at all,” he said.
“We told them, ‘This means you were busy with your mobile phones’, because when one sees a pedestrian in front of them they dig into the brakes.”
Mr Al Neyadi said harsher punishments must also be imposed for drink-driving, which caused 12 per cent of accidents in the first three months. The penalty as it stands is a Dh20,000 fine.
“All counsellors in the attorney general’s office are calling to increase it to between Dh30,000 and Dh50,000, or not placing a cap at all,” he said.
“We always ask them how the accident occurred and they say, ‘The last thing I remember is leaving the hotel’.”
In general, female drivers have less reaction time than men, said Mohammed Al Shibli, head of the prosecutions department in Abu Dhabi.
“But on the other hand, men commit most drink-driving and reckless-driving accidents.”
hdajani@thenational.ae
