38 UAE nationals die in Oman road crashes in five years

Abu Dhabi - Most of these accidents involved car collisions

Thirty-eight UAE nationals have been killed in road accidents in the Sultanate of Oman over the past five years, with the recent crash involving the death of a mother and her son occurring last week, according to traffic authorities.

Most of these accidents involved car collisions. The majority of the crashes occurred in the months of July and August as thousands of citizens and their families travel to Salalah in Oman every year to enjoy the mild weather.

And traffic authorities at the UAE Ministry of Interior have attributed the causes of most of these accidents to the difference in the traffic environment, the lack of commitment to legal speed limits and drivers' inattentiveness.

In a recent accident on Tuesday, July 25, an Emirati mother died and 13 others were injured after three vehicles, two of them carrying Emiratis and Saudi nationals, crashed in Oman.

The police in Oman said the crash occurred on one of the highways in Qarn Al Alam, Adam province.

Capt. Mohammed bin Salam Al Hashami from the Royal Police's Department of Public Relations said two vehicles with UAE and Saudi number plates collided head as one of them attempted to overtake another vehicle from a wrong spot.

"Both vehicles caught fire after ramming into each other," said Al Hashami.

"One of the vehicles then swerved from the road and crashed into another car that had Omani number plates."

Police said the UAE vehicle was carrying six persons from the same family and two of them were burned to death. The other four Emirati occupants suffered moderate injuries and were transferred to the nearest hospital for treatment.

In June this year, two Emiratis were killed when a vehicle they were travelling in collided with a trailer in Central Oman.

And in July 2016, two Emirati teenagers died and a third injured while driving home from Oman.

In another crash last year during August, a 10-year-old Emirati and his father were killed in a road accident in Oman while driving back to the UAE.

Brigadier Ghaith Hassan Al Zaabi, director general of traffic coordination at the UAE Ministry of Interior said most of the road accidents reported outside the UAE and involving Emiratis result from failure to abide by the speed limits on some roads and wrong overtaking.

"In some cases sudden change of lanes due to road works and rough spots causes accidents as some drivers may not be familiar with the roads," he said.

"But generally many of the crashes result from speeding and inattentiveness on part of drivers."

The official said motorists should adhere to traffic rules and regulations while driving from anywhere around the world.

Al Zaabi also advised Emiratis travelling with their cars outside the country to first ensure they are in good and safe condition including checking on the car tyres and the engine before starting their journeys and wherever they get a break while on the way.

The officer said that the ministry was making awareness efforts to ensure the safety of passengers travelling outside the country by road and in their own vehicles, by providing them with a guide to safe driving and traffic rules and regulations for the neighbouring countries.

He noted that the ministry is also keen on educating drivers and passengers on the requirements in the countries they are visiting including the unauthorized items to carry and the general safety instructions of the vehicles.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com