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Speed Limits may be Lowered

In an exclusive interview, Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Deputy Director of General Department of Traffic of Dubai Police, spoke with Khaleej Times.

Excerpts from the interview:

What do you think about the traffic situation in Dubai?

The problem of traffic movement in Dubai is based on the fact that Dubai is passing through a transitional period characterised by broadening of narrow roads. These road projects are scheduled for completion by the end of the year 2015. Dubai is currently carrying out a number of infrastructural development projects. The increase in Dubai’s population has resulted in an increase in the number of cars on the roads. There are around a million cars in Dubai. However, the traffic authorities hope to reduce the density of traffic on Dubai roads with the phasing out of vehicles 20 years old or more from January next year.

The withdrawal of old cars is expected to enhance the traffic flow by 10-15 per cent. The police is taking several measures to reduce the number of cars on the streets. What should be done, in my opinion, is that car registration fees should be increased so that the low-income groups are discouraged from buying cars. Secondly, the entry of old cars into the country should be prevented. I believe old cars are a part of the traffic problem as they can be a cause of accidents as a result of tyre bursts. They can also be a traffic hazard when they break down suddenly in the middle of the road.

Would Dubai Metro be able to solve the traffic problem in Dubai?

I think that with the introduction of Dubai Metro and luxury buses, the traffic situation would certainly improve to a great extent. The Metro will pass by some of the major shopping malls and offices of government departments. Additionally, the introduction of modern buses and more internal routes would encourage many people to travel by the Metro. Dedicated bus lanes, too, will be introduced by RTA.

What action is being taken by the Traffic Police to curb accidents involving heavy trucks?

The heavy trucks are prohibited from using Dubai roads during certain hours and the speed limits, too, have been curtailed on internal roads. A large number of heavy trucks travel on Dubai roads. A lot of them have been involved in fatal accidents. A fair number of heavy trucks on the roads of Dubai are old and lack proper maintenance. Most of the companies have no fixed work hours for their heavy truck drivers, as a result of which the drivers get fatigued and lose concentration which, in turn, leads to accidents. There are no facilities for relaxation on the highways, specially on highways where there are no parking areas. The heavy truck drivers tend to overspeed on highways, specially on Emirates Road.

There are no specified parking lots for a large number of heavy trucks that gather usually at Al Aweer sewerage station.

There is shortage of parking space in the emirate and people complain about being issued tickets frequently?

There are not enough parking lots for one million cars in Dubai. I believe that there is no parking space for at least 200,000 vehicles at any given time. Many motorists may not find parking space when they go to certain government offices. However, they usually request the police to allow them to quickly finalise their transaction. Nonetheless, the Traffic Police officers often take strict action against motorists who park their cars in prohibited places and ignore the designated parking area rule.

How can accidents involving pedestrians be avoided or at least curbed?

Accidents involving pedestrians seem to be a serious issue. Such accidents mostly take place on highways, specially on Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Al Ain-Dubai Road.

Some pedestrians are compelled to cross some of the roads at undesignated places because there are no zebra crossings. Earlier, the Dubai Municipality used to run a free bus shuttle on Shaikh Zayed Road enabling the people to cross the road safely from either side. We do not know why the shuttle service was halted. Company owners should arrange buses to transport workers from their accommodation to the city. This is particularly essential during the weekend, when most of the accidents involving pedestrians take place. Most of the low-income workers cannot afford taxis, nor can elderly people, women and children walk for a long distance in the heat. I think that a number of pedestrian crossings being constructed by the RTA would help reduce accidents involving pedestrians significantly.

What about revising speed limits in Dubai ?

Dubai Police have proposed that the speed limit of vehicles on some of Dubai roads be revised. On certain internal roads, the speed limit is still above 100 km/hour because before the expansion of Dubai those roads were either used to be in the outback or had been assigned as highways such as the Dubai Airport road which passes through residential areas. We are now planning to revise the speed limits. On Shaikh Zayed Road, near Mazaya Center and on Al Garhoud bridge the speed limit is currently 120km/h. This will be reduced to 100km/h.

The speed limit on internal roads and residential areas should not exceed 60km/h and highways could be in the range of 100-120km/h. In some residential areas you may find the speed limit is 80km/h while on highway road the speed limit could be 60km/h where the traffic is heavy.

The speed limits vary from one emirate to another. The speed limit on Dubai highways is 120km/h while in Abu Dhabi it is 160km/h. The RTA is studying the speed limit proposal, but execution may take some time because some of Dubai roads are narrow and a number of road widening projects are under way. At present, we are studying the nature of each road and subway in Dubai. The speed limit in Dubai will be revised before the end of the current year.

Has the Salik toll system been successful in reducing traffic congestion?

More than a year has passed since the introduction of Salik and we notice that the problem of traffic congestion has still not been resolved. Motorists, who evade Salik, use other roads and causing traffic jams. The toll gates would be effective if they were moved to the Dubai emirate’s exit and entry roads.

Why is the Al Hamriya exit road to Sharjah closed?

The road is closed on the instructions of Dubai Municipality because the heavy trucks and cars cause traffic jams in the Al Hamriya and Al Mamzar areas, which, in turn, affects the traffic movement in the Dubai City Center and Al Garhoud areas.

Why are traffic patrols often slow in reaching the scene of accident?

The main reason is the heavy traffic in certain crowded areas in Dubai. Hence the movement of traffic patrols is impeded. In every 2-3 minutes, an accident takes place and this is a serious problem.

Another problem is that motorists stop their cars to see what has happened, which again block the movement of the traffic patrols. Some motorists have no ideas of Dubai roads and they usually fail to give details of the exact location. To shorten the response time of traffic patrols, Dubai Police are planning to set up units at gas stations— five points in Deira and five in Bur Dubai — by the end of the year.

What do you think is responsible for the rise in traffic violations?

The number of traffic violations has increased because now we have intensified police patrols and more cameras and radars to detect violations. Speeding tops the list of violations. One of the problems is that motorists do not know how many traffic violations they have committed.

Currently, we are studying the option of sending SMS alerts to people informing them of the traffic violation details, so they pay up as soon as possible. To introduce that system, the Traffic Department needs to update the addresses of the motorists.

Some rental car companies have fines amounting to millions of dirhams. We have set up teams to collect money from the people.

how to reduce road accidents

• narrow roads: Since the roads in Dubai are relatively narrow, motorists should not be allowed to enter Dubai from a number of roads at a time.
• work hours: The companies should fix the work hours of heavy truck drivers and not let them work for long hours at a stretch so that they do not get fatigued. By this measure, we can curb the rate of accidents and fatalities on the roads.
• parking areas: We have to speed up the process of establishing parking areas for heavy vehicles on highways, specially on Emirates Road in Dubai.
• company transport: We recommend that during weekend rest days, the companies should transport workers from their labour camps to various places, including shopping malls and parks, so that accidents involving pedestrians could be reduced.
• more crossings: To discourage pedestrians from crossing the main roads and highways at undesignated places, more crossings on main roads and highways, especially Emirates Road, need to be designated and more road barriers erected.
• speed limit: To minimise the number of accidents, we are planning to reduce the speed limit of vehicles on Dubai’s roads and install more radars to monitor speeds of vehicles. This measure will deter motorists from overspeeding.
• free lane: For prompt response to accidents, there should be a free lane to enable ambulance and police patrols to reach on time.

amira@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE