Red lanes on Dubai roads mean slow down
dubai — The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has started colouring the asphalt red on parts of streets where speed limits have been changed. This includes the Oud Metha Street near Bu Kadrah Interchange along the extension of Dubai-Al Ain Road, where the maximum speed limit has been reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h.
Maitha bin Adai, CEO of the RTA’s traffic and roads agency, said: “The experiment was carried out at a certain location on Oud Metha Street. The process involved colouring all lanes in an eye-catching style to alert road users of the new speed limit. Asphalt colouring will also be used in phases at locations subject to speed changes on other vital roads in Dubai. We expect motorists to get used to this for their own safety and avoid offences and accidents resulting from speeding.”
She said this location is “experimental”, and the idea will next be implemented on the Sheikh Zayed Road near the fifth interchange, where the speed limit has been reduced from 120km/h to 100km/h. It will also be applied to the Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road near Lehbab, where the speed limit has been reduced from 120km/h to 100km/h.
“The experiment will be evaluated to verify its impact on drivers’ attitudes. It is expected that the procedure will significantly increase compliance with specified
The experiment will be evaluated to verify its impact on drivers’ attitudes.” Maitha bin Adai, CEO of the RTA’s traffic and roads agency,
speeds and avoid potential accidents,” said bin Adai.
She said the development projects launched and implemented by the RTA since its inception have “contributed to decreasing the number of traffic accident deaths by as much as 50 per cent”.
“Traffic fatalities came down from 332 in 2006 to 166 in 2015, and mortality rates went down from 21.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2006 to 3.5 per 100,000 people in 2016. These statistics have placed Dubai among the top five cities in the world in terms of traffic safety,” she explained.
“Excessive speeding causes 80 per cent of severe traffic accidents. A study was commissioned to improve the locations witnessing speed reduction to alert drivers to be more attentive and have them reduce their speed to match the design of the road and avoid being caught by radars,” she added. — Wam