Road mortality rates in Ajman dropped by 5 per cent and injuries were down by 35 per cent in 2017 in comparison to 2016, the commander-in-chief of Ajman Police said.
Maj Gen Sheikh Sultan Bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi said serious accidents dropped by 27 per cent and accidents that involved a person being run over fell by 10 per cent.
"This decline is attributed to the Ministry of Interior's new strategy, which seeks to reduce traffic accidents and deaths to the lowest rates," said Maj Gen Al Nuaimi.
He pointed out that these measures brought the traffic death toll from 19 in 2016 to 18 in 2017 and serious injuries down from 407 in 2016 to 262 in 2017.
"Its a positive development in an emirate lived in by more than 504,000 people," he said.
Statistics showed that serious traffic accidents declined from 262 accidents in 2016 to 191 accidents last year.
Minor accidents also dropped from 25,041 to 23,028.
"49 per cent of the 195 traffic accidents that caused injury involved someone being run over, with the total number standing at 96," he said, adding that negligence, failing to pay attention to the road, not observing safety distances and sudden turning were the main reasons behind the majority of accidents.
Al Nuaimi said that drivers aged between 31 and 45 caused 85 of the 195 accidents that caused injury.
Drivers from Asian nationalities caused the majority of accidents, at 51 per cent, of which 44 per cent were Arab drivers and 12 per cent were from Gulf nationalities. The remaining accidents were caused by African and European drivers.
Maj Gen Al Nuaimi said deterrent measures and aggressive traffic awareness campaigns targeting all road users helped to reduce the death toll.
