Safety signage for drivers in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Safety signage for drivers in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Safety signage for drivers in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Safety signage for drivers in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National


How the UAE made its roads safer


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May 18, 2023

It’s an everyday ritual followed by millions. Right now, drivers around the world are turning the key and pulling out into traffic. On the roads they will join people commuting to work, taking their children to school, making deliveries or otherwise just getting from A to B. But it is sobering to consider that, for such a quotidian activity, traffic accidents are responsible for so many deaths and life-changing injuries.

It is UN Global Road Safety Week and statistics from the organisation make for grim reading. According to the World Health Organisation, traffic injures are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with an estimated 1.3 million people losing their lives on the roads each year. As many as 50 million people are injured in crashes each year, with a quarter of all road deaths taking place among cyclists and pedestrians.

In the UAE, however, where the car is central to daily life, traffic deaths have fallen by two thirds in the past decade, leading some to ask – what is the key to making our roads safer?

Over the years, the Emirates has taken a determined stand against the needless tragedy of road deaths. Legislation regarding reckless driving, the use of seat belts or driving while using a mobile phone has been tightened up. In 2017, a system of black points was introduced under which a driver could be banned from the roads if they earned too many points from traffic infractions. Punishments for poor driving can include fines, black points, vehicle confiscation or even imprisonment.

A police and ambulance team rescue a 'driver' during a mock accident staged by Abu Dhabi Police as part of GCC Traffic. Ravindranath K / The National
A police and ambulance team rescue a 'driver' during a mock accident staged by Abu Dhabi Police as part of GCC Traffic. Ravindranath K / The National

As well as legal measures, the country has taken practical steps. In the capital, Abu Dhabi Police announced last September that a section of Sheikh Zayed Road would have a reduced speed limit of 100 kilometres an hour, down from 120kph. Elsewhere in the emirate, the speed limit on the Abu Dhabi to Al Ain road was reduced from 160kmph to 140kmph.

Last month saw the introduction of what is thought to be one of the highest minimum speed limits in the world – a 120kph minimum on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Road. Officials said the minimum limit – a move that was backed by a more than three quarters of respondents who took part in an Abu Dhabi Police online poll – was to ensure that slower vehicles move to the right and keep out of the way of faster drivers.

This week, Abu Dhabi Police introduced a road alert system designed to warn drivers of bad weather and traffic accidents. The coloured lights will be used to warn drivers across the emirate about hazards and to improve road safety. This new piece of road infrastructure goes hand in hand with an extensive network of advanced speed cameras across the country that reduces the chances of speeding drivers endangering themselves and others.

But the UAE is also working on more sustainable transport options to give as many people as possible the option of travelling without a car. In the major urban centres of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, there is extensive public transport and more cycle lanes than ever before. At the Middle East Rail conference in Abu Dhabi this week, Gottfried Eymer, the new chief executive of the Etihad Rail freight network, told The National that trains would take huge numbers of heavy goods lorries off the roads, making them safer.

These are all positive developments but the best planning in the world can only mitigate risk, not banish it entirely. Tragedies can and do happen. In March this year, a young teacher in Abu Dhabi, Caina Healy, lost her life when she was struck by a vehicle as she was cycling to work.

Road infrastructure can be improved, vehicles can be made safer and laws can be strengthened but building a culture of road safety – one in which motorists drive responsibly, with patience and awareness – is an ongoing process that calls for vigilance. Police across the UAE have been pro-active about this, as their regular safety campaigns and updates prove. But even one death is a tragedy. When it comes to keeping our roads safe, we all have our part to play.

'The Sky is Everywhere'

Director:Josephine Decker

Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon

Rating:2/5

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
The specs

Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre

Power: 325hp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh189,700

On sale: now

Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

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Company%20profile
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Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

While you're here
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

Updated: May 18, 2023, 4:00 AM