The Department of Transport (DoT) announced that drink-driving traffic death rates increased during the recent years in the Emirate of Dubai.
In 2013, the death toll of drink driving accidents there went sky high from 4 to 11 as compared with the previous years.
Going through the official records and reports explained that, there were 324 alcohol-related traffic accidents between January and November, in which 11 people died and 95 were injured, and 572 vehicles were damaged.
During the same period last year, there were 295 such accidents, in which four people died and 97 were injured, and 517 vehicles were damaged.
Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafeen, Head of the Police Traffic Department pointed out that Dubai Police is planning to launch a campaign against impaired driving. Meanwhile, the officers will carry out sobriety checkpoints and saturation traffic patrols to catch people who drive under the influence of alcohol, which poses a serious threat to the life of the driver and of other road users as well.
Mr Al Zafeen added saying that driving under the influence of drugs caused twenty accidents in which one person died and seven were injured, and 32 vehicles were damaged, through which, it was generally added up to the total number of traffic accidents which increased slightly in 2013 to 2,633, up from 2,561 on last year.
Analyzing and reviewing the main reasons of this kind of accidents, for example; unexpected swerving was considered as the primary and the main reason for traffic accidents in Dubai in 2013, with 635 accidents in which 38 people died and 589 were injured, and 1,087 vehicles were damaged.
The campaign reminds everyone of the following imperatives:
- Don’t risk it. If you plan to drive, don’t drink or use any drugs.
- Choose a sober designated driver before celebrating.
- Take mass transit, a taxicab or ask a friend to drive you home.
- Spend the night where the activity is being held.
- Report impaired drivers to law enforcement.
- Always wear your safety belt.
Quick Facts about alcohol-related accidents:
Most drivers who have had something to drink have low blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) and few are involved in fatal crashes. On the other hand, while only a few drivers have BACs higher than 15, a much higher proportion of those drivers have fatal crashes.
- The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is 16.
- The relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC driver and for male drivers the risk is 707 times that of a sober driver, according to official estimates
- High BAC drivers tend to be male, aged 25-35, and have a history of DWI convictions and polydrug abuse.
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