Gulf News

Dubai, Jun 10: The latest statistics from Dubai Police reveal the shocking information that, on average, one person is injured in a traffic accident every three hours and one person is killed.

These figures relate only to Dubai emirate; the other six emirates are obviously not taken into consideration, but as driving skills are not known to dramatically increase once the Dubai border has been crossed, it is reasonable to expect that the numbers will be very little different.

There are probably as many reasons for traffic accidents as there are accidents, but generally it all comes down to the old traffic charge: Driving without due care and attention.

While it is true to say that there can be accidents "from out of the blue" because of reckless driving by another, the majority of accidents are caused by inattentiveness. If it were not so, then there would be no accidents. That's what both the police, and the legal profession, claim.

Site accidents increase

ITPNet
 
The number of construction industry accidents in Dubai this year will reach record levels if trends for the first five months of this year continue.

Figures revealed by Dubai Municipality show that from January to May, there were 107 construction site accidents recorded, compared with 199 for the whole of 2005.

In 2004 there were 149 accidents, which caused 23 deaths and led to 105 people sustaining injuries, while in 2003 some 92 accidents were recorded, in which 20 people died and 35 were injured.

However, the number of construction sites in the city has also risen from 4,582 in 2005 to 6,500 this year, which may account for the increased figures.

Nearly half of all accidents in Dubai are caused by falls from height or by dropped equipment. All accident data has been compiled from every area in the city, although projects by the Ports Customs and Free Zones Corporation and developer Nakheel are not included.

More than 1,000 construction firms are registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.