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Road accidents are the top concern for UAE residents, surpassing economic issues such as unemployment, job loss, and rising prices, as well as other concerns like crime and weather-related disturbances, a recent survey on safety has revealed.
According to the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, released on Friday, 28 per cent of respondents in the UAE identified road accidents as "the number one perceived risk to safety in the UAE, by a considerable margin". This figure is more than twice as high as the next most cited concern — economic issues — which was mentioned by only 13 per cent of participants.
Personal health issues and illnesses were cited by 8 per cent of respondents; while 5 per cent expressed about crime and violence, including domestic violence, violence outside the home, and other crimes.
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Mental stress and exhaustion were cited by 4 per cent of the survey respondents; while climate change or severe weather-related events, such as floods, drought, and wildfires were cited by 2 per cent.
The lowest-ranking concern among UAE residents was political instability and corruption, with only one per cent of respondents viewing it as a major risk.
The findings are part of the report titled ‘What the world worries about: global perceptions and experiences of risk and harm’. The survey, conducted by global analytics firm Gallup, involved 147,000 interviews across 142 countries and territories, including the UAE, and covers data stretching back to 2019.
Early this year, the the Ministry of Interior (MOI) said the number of fatalities on UAE roads rose by 3 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2022.
There were 352 road fatalities across the country in 2023, nine more than the 343 deaths registered in 2022. However, last year’s figures was showed an 8 per cent decrease when compared to the 381 fatalities recorded in 2021.
Authorities and road safety experts have attributed the increase in the accidents primarily on the "misbehaviour of road users."
Recently, Dubai Police confirmed to Khaleej Times that a total of 32 lives were lost this year in road accidents across Dubai due to sudden swerving by motorists.
Road-related accidents are also the biggest perceived risk to safety for people around the world.
According to the survey, 76 per cent of adults worry that road-related accidents could cause them serious harm. Road-related accidents have also been identified as being the single biggest perceived risk to safety in the daily lives of one in six or 16 per cent of the world’s adult population.
In fact, 1 in 10 respondents said they have personally experienced serious harm from road-related accidents.
Meanwhile, 1 in 8 or 13 per cent said that crime and violence are the top risk to their safety; and 1 in 10 (11 per cent) said personal health conditions are their top worry.
The report also noted that global experience of serious harm from road-related accidents in the 2023 poll has increased by one percentage point when compared to 2021 (from 9 to 10 per cent).
Some countries have seen significant increases of reported harm due to road accidents, such as China (from 7 in 2021 to 17 per cent in 2023) and Sierra Leone (from 18 to 28 per cent).
Southern Asia has the highest proportion of people who have experienced serious harm from road-related accidents (16 per cent), followed by Southeastern Asia (12 per cent).
More has to be done to keep people safe on the roads, noted Nancy Hey, director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation. She said: “Since the World Risk Poll began in 2019, people around the world have named road-related accidents as the greatest risk to their safety every time. Even amid major global upheavals, including the covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and economic and cost-of-living crises, people continue to feel most threatened by risk from everyday transportation.”
“To enable harm to be reduced, communities must not accept road-related accidents as a fact of life,” she underscored, adding: “Even in the absence of vocal public pressure, policymakers should take the initiative to act on such prevalent risks. The findings and data in this latest report should serve as a stimulus and valuable resource to inform action that makes people safer.”
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