Rains in Dubai: RTA warns of accident risks on wet roads; issues tips

With more rains forecast for this week, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has urged motorists to exercise extra caution when driving.

“There might be some rainy spells, during which the likelihood of traffic accidents would be high due to tyres skidding on wet roads,” the authority said on Monday.

Maitha bin Adai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency, RTA, advised drivers to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

“The driver must also avoid driving distractors such as the mobile phone, ensure that the windshield and windows are clean, and drive at a reasonable speed or less than the speed limit,” she added.

An RTA campaign will see awareness messages on social media networks, e-screens at customer service centres and billboards on some Dubai roads.

“The awareness messages focus on alerting motorists of the requisites of driving under rainy conditions and the importance of taking every caution since speeding on wet roads causes surprises that the driver will not be able to avoid on time.”

Do’s:

1.Leave an extra safe distance between you and the vehicle in front and be prepared for any incidents in front of you.

2.Be vigilant and avoid onboard distracters such as the mobile phone.

3.Ensure your vehicle's windows and mirrors are clean and use wipers and headlights to improve visibility.

4.In case a thick fog blanket makes it difficult to continue driving, stop and park your vehicle off the road.

5.Always keep an eye on the speedometer, as you may be driving faster than you think. If so, reduce speed gradually.

6.Use fog lights besides the normal lights of the vehicles.

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Don’ts:

1.Do not use full beam since glow reflects under misty conditions, which will deteriorate the visibility range for you as well as motorists heading from the opposite direction.

2.Do not stop your vehicle on or near traffic lanes to avoid causing an accident of vehicles coming from behind.

3.Avoid sudden burst of speed even if it looks like the fog blanket is dissipating, as it may resurface suddenly.

4.Don’t attempt to accelerate to overtake, as wet roads may cause the vehicle to skid.

5.Do not use the four-way hazard lights except in emergencies. Using them just for driving during rain deprives motorists of alert signals when encountering an emergency.

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