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Traffic on Shaikh Zayed Road heading towards the Dubai Mall. Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/Gulf News Archives

Dubai: A recent study has revealed that woman are, in fact, better drivers than men.

The study also found that men caused as many as 90 per cent of the accidents reported in Dubai in 2015.

Data was compiled from Dubai Police statistics on road accidents that occurred in 2015 with legal cases attached to them, with the exception of minor incidents causing minor to moderate damages to property.

The report, which was done by Movesouq.com and Qatar Insurance Company, was quick to point out, however, that 70 per cent of residents in the UAE are men – inadvertently indicating a much higher proportion of male drivers.  

Top reasons for accidents

The majority of accidents on Dubai’s roads were caused by drink-driving and suddenly changing lanes, followed by not leaving enough distance and a lack of judgement.

Frederik Bisbjerg, head of group retail and executive vice-president MENA at Qatar Insurance, said: “It seems clear that most of the accidents are caused due to lack of experience from the drivers of the cars, which is an issue that we need to address as an industry and as a country.”

“We already do to some extent by rewarding safe drivers, but in the near future will see even more [insurance] products and initiatives focusing on improving driver behaviour,” he said.  

Almost two-fifths of accidents in 2015 were caused by drivers between 21 and 29 years old, at 37 per cent, while those aged between 30 and 39 caused 34 per cent of accident.

Meanwhile, only 14 per cent of accidents were caused by people between 40 and 49, with nine per cent caused by drivers above 50.

Research also found that more than half of the accidents occurred at night, at 55 per cent, and that 65 per cent of reported accidents took place on Thursdays.


Rank Reason for accident Percentage
1 Suddenly changing lanes 20
1 Drink-driving 20
2 Not leaving enough distance 19
3 Lack of judgement 10
4 Not keeping in your lane 6
4 Entering a lane without cheking if its clear 6
5 Jumping a red light 5
6 Carelessness 4
7 Reversing without paying attention 3
8 Speeding 2