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Impact of traffic law amendments discussed

ABU DHABI — A workshop on the impact of the recent amendments to the traffic law started at the Abu Dhabi Police HQ on Tuesday.

The workshop highlights the positive role of the amendments in enhancing traffic safety around the country.

The HR Director of the Abu Dhabi Police, Maj-Gen Mohammed Al Awadi Al Minhali, said the law and its amendments were not the goal. Achieving lower accident rate and better road safety is the key, he said.

Maj-Gen Al Minhali added the implementation of the black points system, for example, has sent a clear message to the violators that the police would not be lenient when it comes to breaking the law.

The workshop discussed the scientific and analytical aspects of the traffic situation in the UAE and the loss of potential human resources.

As many as 1,056 people had died in traffic accidents across the country last year, while a total of 8,872 accidents had taken place in the year.

The workshop discussed the rise in the accident rate. The statistics show that there is one casualty every eight hours and 25 injuries in traffic accidents everyday.

The condition of road safety in the country before and after implementing the new amendments to the traffic law was also discussed.

In his paper, Dr Yasir Hawas, Director of the Road, Transport and Traffic Safety Research Centre at UAE University, pointed to the dangerous situation in the country, saying the casualty rate in traffic accidents in the country is 3-4 times more than that in the western countries.

Punishment philosophy

Lt-Col Dr Jamal Saif Faris, Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Department of Abu Dhabi Police, presented an overall legal vision of the punishment philosophy behind the recent amendments to the traffic law. He discussed the aspects of the issue, in terms of accident rates, which increased from 8,254 in 2005 to 8,443 in 2006 and 8,872 in 2007. The number of casualties also increased from 830 in 2005 to 878 in 2006 and 1,056 in 2007.

Violations come down

Col Hamad Adeel Al Shamsi, Director of the Traffic and Patrols Department, outlined the positive impact of the new amendments and their role in limiting both accidents and violations in the months of March and April, in comparison with the same period last year. He revealed that the number of violations have decreased from 90,117 in March last year to 31,715 this March and from 90,680 in April last year to 29,410 this year.

Col Al Shamsi revealed that 217 accidents took place in March last year, and 218 accidents in the same month this year. The number of accidents in April last year was 223 and it increased to 235 this year.

He also discussed the role of the Traffic and Patrols Department in implementing the law, the traffic situation prior to the amendments, and the loss of human resources.

Road safety

Colonel Gaith Hasan Al Za'bi, Head of the Traffic Department at the Ministry of Interior, presented a worksheet titled " The role of traffic law amendments in raising road safety", where he clarified that motorists are aware of the noticeable development in road networks.

Despite the expansion in road networks, lighting, modern technologies and safety measures, the increasing number of vehicles using the roads lead to several negative developments such as accidents.

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