Three killed and 30 injured in Dubai traffic accidents during Eid holiday

Collisions were caused by tailgating, speeding and poor lane discipline, says emirate's police force

Dubai police officers responded to 31 traffic accidents during the Eid Al Fitr holiday. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Three people were killed and 30 injured in 31 traffic collisions in Dubai over the Eid Al Fitr holiday.

Dubai Police said four people were severely injured, 20 moderately injured and six suffered only light injuries.

“Most of the accidents that happened were mainly caused by tailgating, speeding and failing to abide by lane discipline,” said Brig Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, Director of the General Department of Traffic at Dubai Police.

Sudden swerving and distracted driving also caused some of the accidents, he said.

Police in the emirate responded to nearly 129,000 calls from the public on both emergency and non-emergency numbers over the long weekend.

“Dubai Police's emergency hotline [999] received 118,078 calls and the non-emergency toll number [901] received 10,697 calls during the holiday,” said Col Muhammad Abdullah Al Muhairi, Acting Director of the Command and Control Centre of Dubai Police.

Officers also responded to 1,276 emails and engaged in 1,730 live-chats with customers who contacted the force with general inquiries and feedback.

Brig Al Mazrouei asked the public to remember the difference between emergencies and non-emergencies and only call the hotline when needed.

“The work of the command centre is of great importance because it's time-sensitive, therefore it's imperative that people only call 999 to report emergencies.”