Fifty per cent drop in motorcycle crash fatalities

Four people died and at least 74 were injured in motorbike accidents between January and June this year.

ABU DHABI // The number of fatal motorcycle crashes fell by 50 per cent in the first half of this year.

Four people died and at least 74 were injured in motorbike accidents between January and June, compared with the same period last year.

"Figures are showing that during the first six months of this year, 67 accidents occurred, against 89 in the first half of 2012," said Brig Gen Ghaith Al Zaabi, director general of the traffic coordination department at the Ministry of Interior.

Brig Al Zaabi released figures showing eight deaths in the first half of last year, according to Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.

The number of injuries dropped by about a quarter this year, down from 98 in the first six months of last year.

Despite the improvements in fatality and injury figures, Brig Al Zaabi said the department had noted an overall rise in the number of breaches of the law in connection with motorcycles.

The number of fines issued was 2,528, as opposed to 2,046 in the first six months of last year, he said.

The age range of victims has also risen significantly compared to last year. The four motorcyclists who were killed this year were between 31 and 45, according to the figures. In the first half of last year, three of the eight killed were between the ages of 8 and 17, and four were between 18 and 30.

Of the 74 injured this year, 10 were aged between 8 and 17, and 50 between 18 and 30.

Of the 98 injured in the first half of last year, 15 were aged between 8 and 17, and 44 between 18 and 30.