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Press Releases

17 Jan 2022

Motorists urged to observe safe driving during changing weather conditions


(Drivers cautioned against over-speeding, failure to keep safety distance)


an image of the rain in Dubai

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) called on motorists to exercise extra caution when driving under foggy and rainy conditions and stick to safe driving during the days and weeks ahead. There might be some rainy spells during which the likelihood of traffic accidents would be high due to tyres skidding on wet roads.

RTA will broadcast awareness messages via social media and communication channels to raise public awareness about traffic safety rules during the winter as more rains are expected.

“RTA’s campaign focuses on several educational points to assist drivers to avoid road crashes triggered by the changing weather conditions,” said Maitha bin Adai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency, RTA. “Each driver has to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front and be prepared for any sudden incident. The driver must also avoid driving distractors such as the mobile phone, ensure that the windshield & windows are clean, and drive at a reasonable speed or less than the speed limit,” she commented. 

“The campaign uses electronic and smart channels in transmitting awareness messages such as social media networks, e-screens at customer service centres and billboards on some Dubai roads such as awareness flashes on websites & media outlets. Messages will be transmitted in Arabic & English to reach the largest possible number of drivers and community members. 

“The awareness messages focus on alerting motorists of the requisites of driving under rainy conditions and the importance of taking every caution during driving since speeding on wet roads causes surprises that the driver will not be able to avoid on time.

“Motorists are urged to continually check their vehicles and maintain them properly especially headlights, wipers, tyres and brakes as they contribute to boosting driver’s visibility and control of the vehicle during rainfalls. They are also required to slow down, maintain sufficient distance between vehicles, and always expect traffic to halt at any moment,” added Metha.


Tips


Do’s:

1. Leave an extra safe distance between you and the vehicle in front and be prepared for any incidents in front of you.
2. Be vigilant and avoid onboard distracters such as the mobile phone.
3. Ensure your vehicle's windows & mirrors are clean and use wipers and headlights to improve visibility.
4. In case a thick fog blanket makes it difficult to continue driving, stop and park your vehicle off the road.
5. Always keep an eye on the speedometer, as you may be driving faster than you would think, if so, reduce speed gradually.
6. Use fog lights besides the normal lights of the vehicles


Don’ts:

1. Do not use full beam since glow reflects under misty conditions, which will deteriorate the visibility range for you as well as motorists heading from the opposite direction.
2. Do not stop your vehicle on or near traffic lanes to avoid causing a serial accident of vehicles coming from behind.
3. Avoid sudden burst of speed even if it looks that the fog blanket is dissipating, as it may resurface suddenly.
4. Don’t attempt to accelerate to overtake a slow vehicle in front, or drive away from a vehicle behind, because wet roads may cause the vehicle to skid and degrade the efficiency of the brakes.
5. Do not use the four-way hazard lights except in emergencies as using them just for driving during rain deprives motorists of alert signals when you encounter an emergency.
 

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