Speeding offences top traffic violations

More than half of traffic violations cited so far this year have involved speeding, a major reason behind accidents in the capital.

ABU DHABI // More than half the traffic violations recorded in the capital so far this year have been for speeding, police said yesterday. A total of 138,919 motorists have been caught breaking the speed limit between January 1 and April 5, representing 56 per cent of traffic cases. Overall, 244,927 road violations were recorded during the period. Col Khamis Ishaq, the deputy director of traffic and patrols with Abu Dhabi Police, reminded drivers that speeding was a major risk factor in serious accidents.

In April last year police launched a major campaign against speeding and reckless driving in the wake of a series of road crashes that claimed the lives of more than 20 people in a fortnight. Patrols were increased and speed detector cameras mounted across the emirate to reduce the number of road casualties. In the first four months of this year police also issued 19,535 parking tickets and 14,988 tickets for disrupting traffic flows.

There were 8,134 violations for failing to wear a seat belt and 5,502 for jumping a red light. A total of 1,834 pedestrians were fined for jaywalking. Other offences included failing to give way to pedestrians on crossings (64); stopping in yellow boxes (93) and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (144). [e-mail]