close
This Ramadan, Dubai Police are urging drivers to slow down and be more careful when driving on roads, particularly in the lead-up to iftar.
According to Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of the Traffic Department, most of the traffic-related accidents happen in the minutes before iftar because drivers are in a hurry to get home to break their fast.
Brig Al Mazroui noted that several drivers want to reach their homes before iftar time, and that results to committing a number of traffic offenses such as speeding, which causes accidents. "Most of the traffic accidents in Ramadan happen shortly before iftar."
The warning came after the Ministry of Interior unveiled that eight people were killed and 66 others were injured in 48 road mishaps that occurred close to iftar time in the first week of the holy month.
Detailing the number and types of mishaps that occurred from May 27 to June 3, the ministry claimed 30 of the 48 accidents were caused by cars crashing into each other, and another 10 were cars hitting road users.
Of the 66 people who have been injured, 10 of them were critical, 31 medium and the rest light.
In the first week of Ramadan, the police collaborated with charity institutes to distribute 23,040 iftar meals to drivers just before iftar time. Dubai Police have selected junctions witnessing heavy traffic in the city to distribute meals to drivers with the aid of volunteers.
Brig Al Mazroui added that it is part of their campaign of safe Ramadan. We distribute the meals to drivers minutes before iftar in order to encourage them to slow down and not exceed speed limits to get home. Motorists commit different offences like speeding, driving on the hard shoulder, crossing red signal and not following lane discipline. Such offences can cause fatal accidents and cause damage. Motorists must either leave early for their homes or carry water and dates to break their fast in the car, which is better than causing accidents."
The police will reportedly deploy more patrols around malls and mosques to organize traffic and will also concentrate on industrial areas like Al Quoz as workers go out in large numbers before and after iftar.
Dubai Police offers the following important road safety tips for Ramadan:
Source: http://www.roadsafetyuae.com/
Image Source:
