It’s a licence to drive safe, not a permit to kill

Speed kills. It may sound clichéd, but it is a fact. Traffic accidents claimed 100 lives on Dubai roads in the first nine months of this year. As many as 2,235 major traffic accidents occurred during the same period resulting in injuries to 1,509 people. It may be a case of saving a few minutes or kilometres here and there, but it exposes the thin line between life and death. When some motorists don’t care for their lives and that of others, it is imperative that traffic authorities step in. This is precisely what Dubai has done. After elaborate safety studies and analyses of traffic accident data, speed limits on two major Dubai roads were reduced from 120kmph to 110kmph starting Sunday. Which means motorists will not be able to zip through Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road at 140kmph anymore. The two roads, which witness huge volumes of traffic in both directions, account for major accidents in the emirate. The radar flash has now been set at 131kmph after which the driver will incur a fine. But it’s not just fines we are talking about here; life matters most. The faster a person drives, the less time he gets to stop in unexpected circumstances. Also, the impact of an accident increases in proportion to the speed. So, if you thought speeding is cool, well, you are mistaken. A speeding driver is a bad driver as he or she causes havoc on the roads and is a contributor to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year.

Authorities in Dubai have once again stepped in to safeguard people. But the vehicle is in the hands of the driver and it is his responsibility to take care of his co-passengers, fellow drivers and most importantly, himself and his family. Remember, speed limits are not targets. They are set after considerable studies of the type of road and conditions. And they are the absolute maximum one can drive at. But that does not mean it’s safe to drive at this speed at all times. For, your licence is for safe driving.