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 11th 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 4th 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 2nd 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 2nd highest value over the 11-cycle period.

The ‘UAE Road Safety Monitor’ 11th 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.