Death on roads 'due to financial stress'

Death on roads 'due to financial stress'
By Nasouh Nazzal,Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: July 02, 2008, 00:08

Ras Al Khaimah: The Traffic and Licensing Department has attributed the sharp increase in the number of deaths on the road in the first half of this year to rising prices and the burdens put on drivers.

The minds of drivers are preoccupied, considering many issues, the least of which is safe driving, a department official said.

Fifty people of different nationalities died in road accidents here in the first half of this year, registering a 47 per cent increase compared to the first half of the previous year where 34 people died in road accidents.

According to traffic statistics released yesterday by the Traffic and Licensing Department, 40 per cent of fatalities involved Emiratis, with 20 dying in road accident in the first half of this year, along with 30 others of various nationalities.

Colonel Hassan Al Braiki, the Deputy Director of the Traffic and Licensing Department said drivers' minds were preoccupied with their responsibilities and domestic daily troubles.

He added that failure to focus on driving made them unaware of speed limits, traffic regulations and signs which could secure their safety and that of others. Colonel Al Braiki said the number of vehicles licensed and registered had sharply increased in Ras Al Khaimah and the current road infrastructure could not accommodate them. This has also contributed to the rise in road accidents.

The majority of fatalities on the road is due to the fact that motorists are preoccupied by thoughts about their responsibilities and domestic troubles.