One million traffic offences in Dubai in five months

Traffic police say speeding and parking in prohibited areas are the two most common offences.

DUBAI // Police recorded more than a million traffic offences in the first five months of the year, with speeding continuing to be the most common traffic offence.

Col Saif Al Mazrouei, the Dubai Police traffic department director, said 684,646 fines were issued to motorists driving over the speed limit.

Last month, Dubai Police reported 88 people died in just over 1,000 accidents on the emirate’s roads in the first five months.

Col Al Mazrouei said 85 per cent of traffic accidents that resulted in deaths and/or injuries were a result of speeding despite continuous campaigns to raise awareness.

Roshanara Sait, a road-safety expert and director of Ciel Marketing & Events, said despite awareness campaigns, some motorists are tempted by the open roads in Dubai.

“I think that the main issue of speeding in the emirate is because the roads are fantastic in the way they are built. They’re open roads on which people tend to throw caution to the wind and forget safety measures, as well as about other people on the road,” she said. “It really just boils down to being considerate on the road.

“Just because a person has a nice car, and there are nice roads, does not mean a person should speed. If there is a need for speed, there is a time and place for it, such as the Dubai Autodrome.”

Meanwhile, parking in prohibited areas was the second most common violation, with 82,282 fines issued.

Col Al Mazrouei said parking in undesignated areas has led to tragic accidents. He recalled how a man was recently run over in front of his wife and children when he parked his vehicle on side of the road to check his tyres.

Ms Sait said a person should never try to fix his/ her tyres on the hard shoulder, as speeding motorists posed a great threat.

“It is very dangerous to stop on the hard shoulder. A person should always either stay in the vehicle or get as far away as possible from the vehicle and call for help. They should not attempt to fix the tyres themselves in case there is another vehicle travelling at a high speed,” she said.

“There is a strange phenomenon that many do not realise, something called target fixation that hasn’t been researched enough. Target fixation is when a person is looking at something and unconsciously starts to lean or drive towards it, even though they are consciously thinking they need to avoid it.”

Dubai figures show there were 71,211 offences of disrupting traffic, 30,383 cases of motorists suddenly swerving and 27,287 fines issued for tailgating.

Col Al Mazrouei said police recorded 6,436 offences for running a red light, 55 of which were heavy vehicles, which can attract a fine of up to Dh5,000. Motorists with light vehicles face an Dh800 fine, eight black points and will have their car confiscated for 15 days.