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Drive against making
sudden turns on roads

The Dubai Police have launched a traffic campaign to prevent drivers from making sudden turns on roads.

The one-month campaign will focus on highways, in an effort to reduce deaths from accidents caused by sudden turns, which represent 18 per cent of the traffic accident deaths.

Dubai Police’s General Department of Traffic Director Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin said the campaign was launched following the rise in the number of road fatalities caused by sudden turns, which reached 20 during the first quarter of the current year compared to seven deaths for the same period last year, he said at a press conference on Monday.

He said some who committed these violations, which he classified as dangerous, particularly on highways and main roads, underestimated how deadly the manoeuvring could be.

According to last year’s statistics, sudden turn violations had reached 23,282 resulting in 484 accidents which caused 22 deaths, compared to just 15,569 violations in 2011, which resulted in 331 accidents — though still caused 22 deaths.

Maj-Gen Al Zafin said speeding increased the risk of sudden turning, stating all drivers needed at least two-and-a-half seconds to deal with any emergency, when they would be confronted with five choices: either stop, deviate right or left, increase speed or do nothing.

The first four alternatives would cause serious accidents, he said. UAE nationals topped the list of sudden traffic violations, as they did not use their indicators before changing lanes, he said. Emirati drivers had caused seven deaths, followed by Pakistani drivers who had caused three deaths, and Egyptian drivers who had caused two deaths.

Maj-Gen Al Zafin said taxi drivers were always using their indicators, moving from lane to lane, and they would justify their sudden turns by saying they were already using their indicators.

He called for doubling penalties of sudden turn violations, which were currently a fine of Dh200 and four black points.

He said some youth were intentionally committing violations, with police recently seizing the car of one youngster who told the police he would drive the car without a licence, despite penalties. Maj-Gen Al Zafin called on parents to monitor their sons and said he regretted that some parents approached the police asking to return cars and motorbikes to their sons, without considering that many youths were either killed or paralysed as a result of the risky violations.

He also noted that campaigns had not reduced pedestrian accidents. Still, many Asians do not refrain from crossing roads from non-designated areas. In the last incident which took place on Saturday, a worker got out of the company bus and crossed the road. He was hit by another bus and he sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital.