Traffic hit across UAE as schools reopen

Dubai - On Sunday morning, tailbacks formed across the emirates including around Sharjah's industrial areas, where many schools are located.

As hundreds of school doors reopened across the UAE on Sunday, so too did the floodgates for traffic across the country's busiest roads. But unfortunately for many roads users, it's set to get worse as not all schools resumed classes on Sunday.
Come Monday and Tuesday, the remaining campuses across the country will be welcoming students back to class, which means even more transport on the roads.
On Sunday morning, tailbacks formed across the emirates including around Sharjah's industrial areas, where many schools are located. And as the new academic year marked new beginnings for students, for commuters and motorists it merely marked the start of the dreaded peak hour traffic.
While mother-of-two Iram Rizvi was lucky to escape the gridlocked roads on Sunday, she told Khaleej Times with her kids going back to school today (Monday), she's dreading the busy roads during the morning school run.
"Normal classes resume for my kids tomorrow (Monday), so I guess I'll face the traffic nightmare then. If Dante's Inferno was written now, school hour traffic rush would definitely find a place in it."
Dad-of-one Abdul Sharef also felt the burn of the back-to-school traffic, though not directly on the roads.
"And so it begins, many of my colleagues were late to attend office and meetings today because of the heavy traffic. It really is a nightmare."
Residents were not shy to air their frustrations on social media either. As the roads began to fill from 7am onwards, British expatriate @lou_bear1 tweeted:
"Well you can tell it's #backtoschool. Dubai roads are mental! Did everyone forget how to drive over the summer?!"
And while @Natapak may have pointed out the obvious, posting: "Back to school. Back to traffic", motorists have been urged by transport authorities, including the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, to plan their trips smarter.
"Schools are back! If you live by or pass through school zones, leave your house a little earlier and use #SmartDrive to help you get to your destination on time. #BackToSchool."
With her daughter returning to school on Tuesday, Priyanka Wade said as the dedicated mommy taxi in charge of the school run, she's preparing to "encounter" the congested roads in two days.
Thankfully, not all residents took a negative approach to the traffic, as @MayedAlShamsi tried to make light of the chock-o-block roads: "September is nothing more than the month of kids going back to school and the return of Dubai/Sharjah traffic lol." As tailbacks formed across the country early morning, the traffic started to ease off from 9am onwards. However, a few accidents were reported.
At about 7.30am, the Abu Dhabi Police tweeted about an accident on the E20 Abu Dhabi International Airport Road after Sweihan bridge, while in Dubai, police reported of an accident obstructing the traffic in the Dubai Trade Centre tunnel towards Jebel Ali at about 8.50am.
Be a role model, parents urged
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE (RSU), said the back-to-school period offers "great opportunities".
"It's a time when parents can show role model behaviour to their kids by applying time management and leaving the house early to be able to drive stress free and arrive at school well before starting time. Kids will appreciate it."
Secondly, he said it's an opportunity for schools to educate students about road safety, "as road traffic accidents are the number one killer for kids below the age of 15".
He added: "Also, young drivers cause about half of all accidents in the UAE. Hence the pressing need to educate them. We must get mandatory road safety curriculum in all classes/stages/years from Kindergarten to year 12." 
kelly@khaleejtimes.com