UAE motorists appreciate further road infrastructure improvement, but overall concern for dangerous driving, commute time – ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ (11th cycle)

The results of the 11^th cycle of the unique and long-running ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ study show the highest value of 77% for ‘Road Infrastructure Improvement’, however this value is coming down by 6% versus the January 2024 cycle. UAE motorists keep appreciating the continued efforts of the involved government entities.

52% of UAE motorist ‘strongly agree/agree’ that overall, traffic has become more dangerous, with an increase of 7% versus January 2024, and also representing the 4^th highest value of all the 11 cycles.

UAE motorists ‘strongly agree/agree’ that these dimensions of reckless driving are still on a high level, but a positive trend can be observed versus the previous cycle of January 2024: ‘Distracted Driving’ 61% (-1%pt.), ‘Speeding’ 60% (-3%pt.), ‘Tailgating’ 55% (-3%pt.), ‘Lane Swerving’ 58% (-3%pt.).

‘Commute Time’ perception has increased for 62% of respondents (+6%pts.) and this value is the 2^nd highest observed over 11 cycles. At the same time, ‘Driving Enjoyment’ has decreased by -8%pts. to 63%. It seems the ever-booming population and increasing vehicle numbers might influence these perceptions, and certainly further road infrastructure improvements will be addressed.

31% of respondents state to have been in an accident in the last 6 months, which is the 2^nd highest value over the 11-cycle period.

The ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ 11^th cycle fieldwork was conducted in December 2024 and the results are now available. The study was commissioned by Al Wathba Insurance jointly with RoadSafetyUAE, and conducted by YouGov (representative UAE sample n=1,031).

“Perception counts! Meaning, the perception of UAE motorists towards the driving culture and towards the efforts of the government to further increase the road infrastructure is a very hard proof point. This unique study provides valuable insights into these perceptions. It pinpoints the areas where further improvement is needed, in order to continue elevating the levels of road safety in the UAE,” said Muralikrishnan Raman, Chief Financial Officer, Al Wathba Insurance. “We participated in this study, because we believe that gathering and communicating these indicators to the public will positively influence behavior and consequently decrease the number of road accidents.”

Thomas Edelmann, Founder and Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE adds: “Over the 11 cycles of this unique study, we have seen a recurring pattern. On the one hand, the government scores very high in the perception of UAE motorists with regards to improving the traffic infrastructure. On the other hand, the road users’ behavior continues to be the challenge. The overall safety perception on our roads decreases, and the major forms of distracted driving are still on high levels, but the positive news is, that they all show positive trends of improvement. As we have stated several times, ‘It takes 2 to Tango’! The UAE motorists who highly appreciate the government-provided road infrastructure must recognize their part of the equation and they must pro-actively contribute by improving their behavior in displaying a more caring and safety-centered attitude behind the wheel!”.

The details of all the 11 Cycles of the UAE Road Safety Monitor can be found in the ‘featured’ section on: http://www.roadsafetyuae.com/statistics

The study will be repeated every six months with the next cycle planned for HY1/2025.

About Al Wathba Insurance:

From the very beginning, Al Wathba Insurance has centered its business around people. Al Wathba Insurance has constantly innovated solutions to help manage risk in ways that meet the needs of the customer and the market. Now, with 25+ years of solid experience in servicing the UAE insurance market, a strong capital base and the support of a panel of internationally renowned reinsurers, Al Wathba Insurance is on its way to being the Company of Choice in the UAE, one that creates real tangible value to its stakeholders and provides the needed security and reliability to its customers. The Company is proud to be rated BBB- with a positive outlook by S&P global ratings and to have been recognized by the UAE’s insurance regulatory body for 2 consecutive years for its transformative digitized and smart technology.

About RoadSafetyUAE:

RoadSafetyUAE’s vision is to contribute to reducing the number of road traffic fatalities, injuries and accidents in the UAE. RoadSafetyUAE’s mission is to raise the awareness for proper conduct on our roads, in an engaging manner and on a broadly communicated and permanent basis. RoadSafetyUAE’s award-winning platform engages with the stakeholders traffic participants, governmental entities, the media, and more than 20 corporate social responsibility (CSR) minded partners. ‘Tips & Tricks’ are the content backbone, provided for more than 60 topics of road safety, all specifically relevant to the UAE. More can be found on www.RoadSafetyUAE.com