RTA, Dubai Police to set up Traffic Accidents Management Unit

These units will provide traffic support during crashes, ensure rapid clearance of vehicles involved in minor traffic accidents, ease traffic congestion and streamline traffic flow.

Mattar Al Tayer, Khamis Al Mazeina and other officials discuss the Traffic Accidents Management Unit. — Supplied photo

Dubai - With a recent study pegging financial losses from traffic jams at Dh3.5 billion per annum in Dubai, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the Dubai Police will soon establish a Traffic Accidents Management Unit. The proposed unit will be affiliated to the Operations Room of the Dubai Police.

These units will provide traffic support during crashes, ensure rapid clearance of vehicles involved in minor traffic accidents, ease traffic congestion and streamline traffic flow at crash sites and surrounding roads.

Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said: “A trial application of the Traffic Accidents Management Unit in sectors of the Shaikh Zayed Road, Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed road and the 100km-long sector of the Dubai-Al Ain road will soon begin.”

A plan for setting up the unit was discussed by Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, and Maj-Gen Al Mazeina.

The unit will also be responsible for avoiding potential accidents as a result of sudden congestion.

A report submitted by the consultant tasked with studying the assessment of the proposed unit showed that the cost of traffic congestion in Dubai is Dh3.5 billion per annum, with Dh1.8 billion attributed to snarls triggered by traffic accidents. This means that traffic accidents-related jams account for up to 51 per cent of the total cost of congestions. In contrast, this rate in countries with advanced traffic systems is as low as 25 per cent.

Roads improve, crashes increase

The study reported that improvement of roads in Dubai reached 48 per cent between 2006 and 2014, and crashes escalated by 16 per cent between 2011 and 2013. It also pointed to the massive increase in the number of vehicles and the huge projected increase in vehicle numbers over the next few years, particularly during the lead up to the World Expo 2020.

Al Tayer said: “These periodic meetings are held in the context of the MoU between the RTA and the Dubai Police to effectively bolster the existing strategic partnership between the two parties in an institutional manner. -dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com