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Speed limit on Dubai-Al Ain highway lowered to 100 km/h

High speed is considered a direct contributor to 20 per cent of fatal crashes, and a secondary contributor to 80 per cent of fatal crashes in Dubai.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has decided to reduce the maximum speed on a sector of Dubai-Al Ain Road stretching from Emirates Road Interchange to Bu Kadrah Interchange from 120 km/h to 100 km/h starting from April 1, 2015.

Engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency at the RTA, said: “The decision to lower the speed on this sector of Dubai-Al Ain Road was primarily driven by the need to maintain public safety and curb traffic accidents. Recent statistics have shown that this area witnessed seven fatal accidents, four immoderate accidents, and nine moderate accidents due to excessive speed between 2011 and 2013.”

High speed is considered a direct contributor to 20 per cent of fatal crashes, and a secondary contributor to 80 per cent of fatal crashes in the Emirate of Dubai; which tells that speed control is one of the most effective tools of reducing traffic accidents.

The mechanism of setting the Posted Speed depends on a number of parameters including the designed speed of the road, actual speed of the road (The 85^th Percentile Speed), urbanization level on both roadsides, pedestrian movement, availability of schools, mosques and other vital facilities, scope of crashes witnessed, traffic volumes, and the high probability of serial accidents, explained Maitha.

“The RTA is continuously revising maximum speeds on some vital roads and in the Emirate of Dubai to increase or reduce the speed limits. In coordination with the General HQ of the Dubai Police, a number of preventive measures & preventive will be taken to maintain the safety of road users including changing speed limit signs (100km instead of 120km), and directional signs aligning the traffic relationship between road users and the best standards & techniques applied worldwide to ensure a safe and smooth mobility for all,” said Maitha in a concluding remark.