ABU DHABI // Despite being aware of the UAE’s traffic rules, many motorists in a survey admitted to speeding because they were late, for fun, to impress others or out of habit.
Sixty-seven per cent of 1,005 residents polled said they speeded because they were late, 53 per cent for fun or to impress others, and 45 per cent out of habit.
Other causes of speeding were knowledge of speed camera sites (39 per cent), the belief the roads were designed for speed (27 per cent), a desire to test a car’s abilities (22 per cent), and justification that speeding is more culturally accepted in the UAE than at home (21 per cent).
The final two explanations were related to enforcement: 15 per cent of drivers felt they were unlikely to be caught; 5 per cent were undeterred by what they considered low speeding fines.
“Drivers seem to be aware of the consequences of speeding but do it anyway,” said Glenn Havinoviski, a US-based transport expert.
In April, YouGov conducted the study for Zurich Insurance Middle East and RoadSafety UAE to shed light on the leading causes of speeding in the UAE.
Eighty-two per cent of UAE drivers claim not to have exceeded the official maximum enforced speed limit of 140 kilometres an hour. But nearly one in five (18 per cent) had exceeded this limit, with 5 per cent claiming to have driven at speeds from 180kph to 260kph.
“Speeding is one of the main killers on our roads,” said Brian Reilly, chief executive of Zurich Insurance Middle East. “[But] ignorance seems to have been replaced by ambivalence, with too many young motorists disregarding the clear risks and habitually speeding.”
Most respondents (86 per cent) believed the current speed limits were about right or even too high, while 12 per cent felt they were too low.
Exceeding the limit was prevalent among young drivers, with 29 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed admitting to speeding on a quarter or more of their trips. Thirty-eight per cent of the age group said they had exceeded 150kph in the past. Eleven per cent of drivers older than 40 admitted to having driven faster than 150kph in the UAE.
Thomas Edelmann, founder of Road Safety UAE, said proper time management and entrenched habits were two factors that need to be addressed.
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