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Sharjah Police launch drive after KT’s pedestrian safety report

Official says motorists must strictly abide by the traffic signals and warning sign boards, and reduce speed in crowded areas.

Sharjah - In response to a report on pedestrian safety published by Khaleej Times on February 8, 2015, the Sharjah Police have launched an awareness campaign titled ‘Be cautious with safety of pedestrians’ to stress the need to focus on the road environment while crossing.

Major Abdul Rahman Khatir, Head of Traffic Awareness, said to ensure pedestrian safety, there are basic procedures which must be followed by motorists as well as pedestrians. Motorists must abide by the speed limit and pay attention on the road, while pedestrians must only cross roads from authorised areas.

Bin Khatir pointed out that motorists must strictly abide by the traffic signals and warning sign boards, and reduce speed in crowded areas. At designated areas, motorists must give priority to pedestrians to cross safely.

On their part, pedestrians must exercise caution while crossing roads and must only walk on the side of roads.

Some pedestrians, he said, talk on the phone while crossing the road from unauthorised areas, exposing their lives and that of others to danger.

The police are coordinating with the departments concerned to study areas that witness high number of run-over accidents. The departments concerned will then work on building foot bridges and setting up zebra crossings to bring down the number.

As part of the pedestrian safety campaign, the police distributed pamphlets in different languages about the importance of respecting traffic safety laws.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com