Pedestrian knockdowns and new driver involvement featured prominently in fresh traffic statistics released by the UAE Ministry of Interior, which logged 6,014 road accidents across the emirates last year.
Run-over incidents ranked as the second most common accident type in 2025, with 1,102 cases — accounting for more than 18 percent of total crashes. Vehicle collisions remained the dominant category at 4,085 incidents, while rollover accidents numbered 800. Red light violations contributed to 195 crashes, and 37 accidents were attributed to drivers failing to yield at pedestrian crossings.
Of those 6,014 accidents, 885 involved motorists on newly issued licences, meaning drivers in the early stages of their licensing were implicated in roughly 15 percent of all recorded incidents.
On causes, sudden swerving — frequently linked to missed exits, impatience, or momentary inattention — was responsible for 905 accidents, making it the leading single cause of crashes in 2025. Insufficient following distance accounted for 663 accidents, while driver distraction, including mobile phone use, produced 551. The three behaviours combined were behind more than a third of the year’s total accident count.
Further down the list, general negligence and inattention contributed to 499 incidents. Entering a road without first confirming it was clear resulted in another 339 crashes.
The ministry’s figures did not include comparative data from previous years in the released summary.
