Roads & Transport Authority - News Details

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Dubai Police General Headquarters, announced the start of the second phase of the Traffic Incidents Management project as of the middle of this month January 2023. The project covers 15 highways and vital streets in Dubai extending 425 km over the period 2023-2025. Operating Phase II crowns the huge success of the initial phase of the initiative, which contributed to reducing secondary injury-related incidents, improving traffic flow and considerably speeding up the clearance of vehicles affected by incidents in line with top international practices.

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General,Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, said: “The Traffic Incidents Management project is undertaken by RTA in cooperation with Dubai Police. It aims to ensure a rapid intervention to remove vehicles involved in traffic incidents or breaking down on roads, to ease traffic congestion, streamline the traffic at incident sites, and cut the time of clearing vehicles involved in incidents. It also avoids the triggering of secondary incidents as a result of sudden congestion and supports Dubai Police in managing traffic during severe incidents.”

Sites

“In the middle of this month, RTA started the operation of Phase II of the project on 7 roads, planned to be covered in 2023, namely: Sheikh Zayed Road (Sheikh Rashid Street, Al Ittihad Street), Al Khail Road (Phase 1), Dubai-Al Ain Road, Al Yalayes Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Al Ribat Road, and the Airport Road. Four additional roads will be covered in 2024: Al Khail Road (Phase II), Emirates Road, Jebel Ali – Lehbab Road, and Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road. Four other roads will be covered in 2025: Dubai-Hatta Road, Umm Suqeim Street, Expo Street and Hessa Street. The selection of roads was based on certain criterias, such as the traffic intensity, particularly during peak hours, and the rising numbers of incidents and vehicles break-down on those roads,” he added.

Rapid Intervention

“We have identified several central points for positioning rapid intervention vehicles on highways and key roads to ensure the quick arrival of vehicles to the scenes of incidents on those roads within specific times according to the approved performance indicators of the project. The Traffic Incidents Management Unit will cater to vehicles involved in incidents or breaking down, provide rapid management of traffic incident sites and neighbouring streets, handle minor incidents that do not require the attendance of police officers, and restore traffic to normal. The unit carries out traffic diversions at incident sites and surrounding roads assists road users, supports the police during severe incidents, protects parked vehicles, and provides traffic support during events,” elaborated Al Tayer.

Al Tayer stressed that the Traffic Incidents Management service will greatly benefit road users in Dubai by enhancing their safety and saving their time through reducing the negative impact of the journey time resulting from traffic incidents.

Continued Success

His Excellency Lieutenant-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, said that the operation of Phase II of the Traffic Incidents Management project in Dubai crowns the success of the initial phase, which delivered important results that proved the feasibility of the project and its ability to curb secondary injury-related incidents and improve the traffic flow during incidents.

“The project adds to the strategic partnership between Dubai Police and RTA in Dubai, which is based on establishing integrated systems that support the future visions and the approved traffic safety plan of the emirate. Eventually, it contributes to achieving the strategic objective of making Dubai a safe and stable city that caters to the protection of lives and properties,” added Al Marri.