ABU DHABI // The UAE has been named the sixth best place to drive among 38 nations by traffic app Waze, according to the results of a study that are certain to raise eyebrows among drivers in the country.
The findings are contradicted by the World Health Organisation, which found that motorists were three times more likely to die in a car in the UAE than in the UK, which ranked 17th.
Waze, a community mapping and navigation smartphone app, ranked 38 countries that had more than 20,000 monthly users providing data to their mobile app.
The WHO’s Global Status Report on road safety, published last year, found 10.9 road fatalities per 100,000 people in the UAE compared to the UK’s 2.9, Spain at 3.7 and Italy at 6.1 per 100,000.
Mark Azzam, who has driven in the UAE, Italy and Spain, said he was surprised by the study’s result.
“It’s not the infrastructure that’s the problem, it’s more the attitude of people. The tailgating here is really bad and it’s dangerous,” said Mr Azzam.
Waze based the countries’ ratings on categories such as road quality, drivers services, traffic, as well as a category called “Wazeyness” or the “happiness and thankfulness of Waze users”. More info
By Naser Al Wasmi www.thenational.ae
