Road Fatalities In Dubai Decline From 21.7 To 1.8 Per 100,000 People Between 2007 And 2024

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), met with Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police. They discussed enhancing collaboration in traffic safety and transport security. The meeting reviewed the progress of the Dubai Traffic Safety Strategy 2022–2026 and initiatives like the Personal Mobility Monitoring Unit for electric scooters.

Al Tayer praised the partnership between RTA and Dubai Police, highlighting their teamwork in executing 53 joint initiatives in 2024. These efforts were crucial in reducing fatalities as part of the Dubai Traffic Safety Strategy. He emphasised maintaining momentum to achieve performance targets and realise the "Zero Fatalities" vision, aiming to make Dubai a global leader in road safety.

Lieutenant General Al Marri acknowledged the strategic partnership's role in enhancing safety for citizens, residents, and visitors. He noted that joint efforts have significantly reduced traffic fatalities by over 90% from 2007 to 2024. He credited awareness campaigns for engaging society on traffic laws, reaching over 255,000 people through eight campaigns and producing educational videos viewed over 117 million times.

The meeting also focused on enforcement efforts to improve compliance. Authorities recorded over 145,000 violations involving delivery motorcycles and nearly 40,000 violations related to bicycles and e-scooters. Around 60,000 pedestrian violations were registered. Approximately 24,000 vehicles were impounded along with nearly 4,000 delivery motorcycles and more than 54,000 personal mobility devices.

Participants reviewed initiatives under four pillars: road engineering, systems management, traffic awareness, and enforcement. Performance indicators showed a decline in road fatalities from 21.7 per 100,000 people in 2007 to 1.8 in 2024. Pedestrian fatalities dropped from 9.5 to 0.3 per capita.

Infrastructure Developments

The meeting discussed road engineering improvements at high-risk locations with recurring incidents. This included installing raised pedestrian crossings and upgrading sites for soft mobility users' safety. A smart management system is being developed for public transport drivers to enhance sector safety.

Joint efforts between RTA and Dubai Police included site visits to truck rest areas and awareness workshops targeting delivery riders, engaging over 15,000 drivers. Additional campaigns reached more than 10,000 workers and vehicle drivers for pedestrian safety.

Policy Innovations

Under systems management, Dubai introduced autonomous vehicle operation laws with executive regulations. The high-frequency incident location tracking system was upgraded alongside the traffic incident reporting platform.

The two entities explored strengthening traffic enforcement and expanding awareness campaigns targeting truck and motorcycle drivers. Trucks account for about 30% of total traffic on major roads while motorcycles represent around 4% of registered vehicles.

Personal Mobility Initiatives

Bicycle trips increased from 44 million in 2023 to 46.6 million in 2024—a growth of 5%. E-scooter trips rose from 30 million to 32.3 million during this period—an increase of nearly nine percent.

A dedicated Personal Mobility Monitoring Unit will oversee compliance on cycling lanes while raising public awareness about safe usage protocols. Violators will face penalties as personnel monitor activity across bicycle lanes connecting soft mobility zones.

Future Plans

The RTA presented its Roads and Transport Plan for 2030 based on four pillars: road infrastructure development with projects like Latifa bint Hamdan Street upgrades; transport policy improvements including flexible working hours; public transport enhancements such as the Dubai Metro Blue Line; smart traffic systems expansion covering network-wide Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS).

This comprehensive approach aims to enhance road safety standards while ensuring efficient transportation solutions throughout Dubai's growing urban landscape.

With inputs from WAM