Emojis encourage safe driving at school zone
dubai — The next time you pass by a school zone in Dubai, you may spot a road sign either smiling to encourage your safe driving or frowning to disapprove of your dangerous driving. The Roads and Transport Authority has started setting up smart signs in the emirate’s school zones that will track your driving speed and give you feedback through emojis.
After flashing a smile or a frown depending on how you drive, the smart signs will display tribute, remarks, alerts or warnings about the speed limit on the road.
“Smart signs are devices equipped with digital screens capable of capturing and showing the driving speed as the vehicle passes through a school zone, along with emojis that intelligently depict the driver’s mental state while driving,” said Maitha bin Adai, CEO of the RTA’s traffic and roads agency.
Phase I of the project was tentatively commissioned in five areas in the first week of the school year: Muhaisnah 1, Al Mazhar, Al Wasl, Al Garhoud and Al Safa. “These areas had witnessed speeding cases in recent months, and therefore smart speed limit signs displaying 40kph speed limits were installed on streets surrounding school zones. Exceeding the speed limit, even by a small margin, may cause runover accidents and injuries among students,” said bin Adai.
According to the official, studies indicate that sending customised messages to drivers creates the required impact on them.