Motorists urged to follow rules and abide by speed limits

No fatal accidents have been reported from Sharjah and Ajman

As many as 385 traffic accidents took place in Dubai in just seven hours of rain on Thursday, according to Brigadier Omer Al Shamsi, Director of the Command and Control Room at the Dubai Police. The accidents ranged from moderate to minor and most of them happened between 5am and noon.

Al Shamsi called on drivers to abide by the traffic rules during the changing weather conditions.

He said the operations room received 3,253 calls during the same period. He called on drivers to make sure that the windshield and glass windows of the vehicle are clean and the lights and signals work properly. He urged motorists to leave sufficient distance between vehicles, abide by lane discipline and not change lanes or overtake from the wrong side.

Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Director General of the General Department of Traffic of the Dubai Police said the traffic department has instructed all departments to use all facilities and resources to control road movements during bad weather. The traffic plans include organising traffic movement at crowded junctions and establishing inspection points to monitor internal roads and highways in addition to early intervention in case of emergencies. He called on drivers to ensure that brakes, engines and tyres are in good condition.

He added that drivers should move the car to the side if the accident was minor or if the car stopped running for some reason in order to enure a smooth flow of traffic.

Heavy traffic

No fatal accidents have been reported from Sharjah and Ajman, too, police authorities from the emirates confirmed. Officials added that only minor collision accidents have been reported.

Officials at the traffic departments said the heavy rains and strong winds caused traffic jams on highways and internal roads of the emirates. However, police patrols have been deployed at all intersections, main roads and congested roads to facilitate smooth traffic flaw.

The police have warned people from going to valleys and mountainous areas at Masfoot and Al Manama areas during these days as more rains have been predicted.

Colonel Sultan Al Khayal, Director of Media and Public Relations at the Sharjah Police, said the police are taking precautionary measures to handle the bad weather.

He warned motorists to drive with caution and follow the speed limits.

Colonel Shaikh Sultan bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Deputy Director of Ajman Police discussed the mechanism to be adopted during the rainy days.

news@khaleejtimes