Garhoud Bridge beautification project launched

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the Al Garhoud Bridge beautification project covering an area of 10.5 hectares.

The project includes tree-covered corridors, date trees, assorted flowers, benches and attractive lighting that would reshape it as a landmark of modern Dubai.

Maitha bin Adai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said the project, which has already started, is expected to be completed in four months.

“Walls of the bridge will be decorated with artistic engineering shapes emulating sand dunes during daytime and colourful lighting at night creating an impression of moving waves,” said Maitha.

The new Al Garhoud Bridge, which was inaugurated in March, ranks among the pioneer projects completed by the RTA. It extends around 1.7km in length and consists of 14 lanes.
The bridge rises 15 metres above the central part of Dubai Creek. Source

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RTA to introduce in new rules to control traffic

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is likely to introduce new regulations and policies in the near future to reduce the number of private cars and control traffic congestion, a senior RTA official has said.

Issa Al Dossari, CEO of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA, hinted that the new legislations could be pertaining to an increase in the parking fees and fines.
The official added that the RTA would be spending a whopping Dh8 billion on public buses this year.

The official was recently giving a presentation at the City Development Conference.

"There would be certain new legislations and policies in the future by which the people can be drawn more towards the public transport system. These legislations can be regarding the parking fees and the different fines. Though the RTA is not giving it a serious thought now, there could be certain changes in the future," he said.

Al Dossari said that congestion and traffic safety were the biggest challenges the RTA was dealing with at the moment.

His presentation cited that the main reason for the traffic congestion was insufficient road capacity followed by poor driving behaviour and practices.

"At present, only 7 per cent of the people are making their trips through the different public transport system. The figure needs to increase. The RTA would be spending Dh8 billion this year on bringing in high quality and luxurious public buses. Also, with the introduction of the integrated transport system, we expect more people to use the public transport means rather than their personal cars," the official added.

Al Dossari opined that the introduction of Salik, the road toll system had made a difference.

"There has been a decrease in the number of unnecessary trips after the introduction of the tolling system. But we need to further put it down. Moreover, the Marine Transport system has also been doing a commendable job. The abras and the recently launched Waterbus have been very successful. In the future, the RTA would be launching the Dubai Ferry Service consisting of eight ferries with a sitting capacity of 120 passengers each across five stations," he said. Source

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Free parking today

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has announced free parking today on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Parking fee collection will resume on Saturday.
"Parking users are requested to observe RTA directives and not to misuse the parking space during the period of exemption.

“They are also requested to enable the residents and visitors of the emirate to benefit from this decision and not utilise the period of exemption in occupying the parking zones for a prolonged period, particularly in the congested spots," said Engineer Najeeb Al Zarouni, Director of Parking Department in the Traffic and Roads Agency.

He urged car owners not to use the parking space reserved for people with special needs, except holders of cards or permits issued for this category.
Parking fee will be resumed on Saturday. Source

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450 new speed cameras for Dubai

Dubai Police is set to install hundreds of new speed camera on the emirate’s highways in a major crackdown on speeding motorists.
Police will boost camera numbers by 450 as part of a fresh campaign to reduce the rising number of road fatalities caused by speeding and reckless driving, state news agency Wam reported on Wednesday.

The new police campaign follows the UAE’s worst ever traffic accident last Tuesday, in which three people died and 347 were injured.

The 200-car pile-up on the Abu Dhabi to Dubai highway was caused by speeding and thick fog.

The increase in speed cameras was announced after a meeting between Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, and Matar Al Tayer, chairman of the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA), to discuss stronger coordination between the agencies.

The agencies intend to form a joint team in a bid to establish traffic awareness programmes, Wam said.

Motorists in the UAE already face having their licence suspended under a strict ‘black points’ system introduced on March 1.

The points system coincides with the introduction of a raft of new penalties for motorists under the newly amended UAE federal traffic law.

Over 1,050 people were killed in UAE road accidents last year, compared to 868 deaths in 2006.

Recent figures released by the Ministry of Interior show that there were 6,813 accidents on UAE roads during 2007, resulting in 10,526 injuries.

According to government statistics, one person is injured on the UAE roads every two hours, with one fatality every fifteen hours. Source

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New 14 lanes of traffic between Bur Dubai and Deira

The new Al Garhoud Bridge officially launched on Saturday over Dubai Creek, opening 14 lanes of traffic between Bur Dubai and Deira.

More than 2,000 engineers, technicians and labourers were involved in the construction of the 1.7 km crossing, which took 24 months from design to completion.

Incorporating 143,000 tonnes of cement, it boasts 17 tonnes of steel pillars and 2,000 steel wires, and is expected to carry around 16,000 vehicles per hour.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority also announced on Saturday the start of construction on a new sixth crossing, set to become the world’s longest arch bridge.
The 12-lane Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing will link Al Jaddaf at Bur Dubai with the road separating the Lagoons project and Dubai Festival City. It will provide entry and exit points for the Creek Island on which the opera building will be constructed.

The 667 metre-high, 3 billion dirham ($817 million) crossing will handle around 20,000 vehicles per hour and is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Set 15 metres above the water, with a 205 metre-high arch, it will include a Dubai Metro station and incorporate a three metre-wide pedestrian walkway.

New York architecture firm Fxfowle said last month its design for the bridge was inspired by the “rhythmic grace of Dubai Creek’s current, the elegant splendour of the sand dunes adjacent to the city, the lighting patterns of the lunar cycle and the design of the future Opera House.” Source

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New and improved Garhoud Bridge is all set to today

Giving a much-needed respite to the thousands of motorists, particularly those travelling from Dubai to Sharjah and back, the new and improved Garhoud Bridge is all set to open on Saturday, the RTA has confirmed.

"The good thing about the bridge is the number of lanes. The new bridge will have a total of 14 lanes, seven for traffic bound from Bur Dubai to Deira and seven for traffic heading from Deira to Bur Dubai. These lanes would ensure movement of a greater number of vehicles passing through the bridge. There would be 16,000 vehicles crossing the new bridge every hour, unlike the old bridge which had a capacity to carry only 8,000 vehicles an hour," said an RTA official. Source

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The Pollice to enforce the belt rule strictly

The seat-belt safety campaign organised by the Dubai Police's General Department of Traffic has ended and traffic authorities are now set to enforce the rule strictly.
Violation of the rule would attract a fine of Dh100 and three black points.
The two-week-long campaign was sponsored by Gargash Enterprises and the global health and consultancy group, Santis HSE.

Dr Lt-Col. Jasim K. Mirza , Head of Safety Awareness in Dubai Police, who presiding over the closing ceremony, said the schools were the best training ground for the safety of the society and its future generations.

He thanked the representatives of Santis and Gargash Enterprises, Paul Stothert and Wassim Derbi, respectively, for donating 100 children's car seats to members of the public in Dubai.

Late last month, the Director of General Department of Traffic Police, Brig. Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, had said a total of 7,094 people had violated the seat-belt rule last year.

Brigadier Al Zafin said the campaign aimed at spreading awareness among motorists and focused on seating children under the age of 10 in the rear seats.

The campaign utilised the services of the Abu Dhabi-based policeman who, dressed like Santa Claus dubbed Dabdoob, visited schools to promote the use of seat belts among the pupils.

Jasim Obeid, the organiser of these visits, told Khaleej Times that he had shown children how accidents could result in the loss of lives of those who do not fasten the seat belt. "I found the young ones very alert and curious," he said. Source

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Dubai Airport tunnel road closed to motorists until April 14

The Dubai Airport tunnel road will be closed from today, Friday, until April 14, for the execution of construction work for the Dubai metro bridge at the entrance and exit points of the tunnel on the Rashidiya side of the Nad Al Humr, it was announced today by the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA).

According to director of RTA's Traffic and Roads Sector, Engineer Hussein Al-Banna, the tunnel will be closed daily from 01:00 a.m to 05:00 a.m except on Friday, Saturday and official holidays.

Al-Banna, who urged motorists to use alternative routes provided by the RTA to minimise traffic jams, called for cooperation. He also advised motorists to exercise caution during the tunnel's closure hours. (WAM)

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Dubai Police facilitates easy payment of fines through POS terminals

Dubai eGovernment announced today (Thursday, March 13, 2008) at a press conference that Dubai Police has extended the scope of its ePay service by installing Points of Sale (POS) terminals at Dubai Police departments, which will facilitate easy payment of traffic fines and other related fees using the credit cards.
The move is expected to significantly benefit those who personally visit Dubai Police departments to make payments, and also people who do not have easy access to the internet to carry out such online transactions.

The state-of-the-art points of sales are extremely user-friendly and present a fast, easy and secure payment channel for users. Dubai eGovernment and Dubai Police have also worked together to ensure compatibility of the points of sale system with the ePay service.

Speaking at the press conference, Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment, said, "Dubai Police was among the early adopters of the ePay service and now they have extended the scope and use of the service by installing payment terminals at their departments.

We are certain that these points of sale terminals will benefit hundreds of customers each day who visit the police headquarters to make payments. Keeping in line with Dubai eGovernment's vision of easing the lives of people, these POS terminals will result in significant savings of time and effort for Dubai's residents." Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said, "In recent years, Dubai Police has been making tremendous progress in its efforts to offer most of its services electronically, with an overriding objective of maximizing the benefits for the end user.

We have noticed significant advantages after offering our services online, especially in terms of speed of transactions and overall productivity, and we are committed to reaffirm our status as a government department that is at the forefront of technological adoption." The advantages of Dubai eGovernment's ePay service are that it supports multiple payment methods including credit cards from Visa, MasterCard and American Express as well as the Dubai eGovernment prepaid card and credit cards, eDirham and direct debit; supports multiple payment channels such as Internet kiosks and IVR, and provides a single standard interface for all service providers.

In addition to Dubai Police, ePay is being used by several government departments such as Dubai Municipality, Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Airports, Land Department, Dubai Chamber & eTQM. (WAM)

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"I have never witnessed an accident of this scale before."

In the worst-ever multiple collisions in the history of the country, apparently caused by heavy fog and negligent driving, more than 200 vehicles, including 12 buses, rammed into each other on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway yesterday morning, resulting in four deaths and injuries to more than 350 people.
More than two dozen vehicles were totaly destroyed by fire caused by the impact of the collisions, according to police.
There were several smaller accidents along the highway at Al Rahba, Al Samha and Ghabaat Al Maha.

The accident caused a heavy traffic jam for several hours on the highway and the police had to divert the traffic to other routes. Colonel Othman Al Tamami, Director of Emergency and Safety Department in the Abu Dhabi Police, said the central operations room received information at 6.39am on the occurrence of traffic accidents where motor vehicles were involved in multiple collisions on the road extending from Al Bahiyya flyover up to the Ghantoot flyover in the exit direction towards Dubai.

Emergency, ambulance and rescue vehicles of Abu Dhabi Police and fire engines of the Civil Defence Department as well as two helicopters from the Abu Dhabi Police Air Wing and that of Dubai Police rushed to the scene of the accidents.

Squads from Armed Forces and a number of police patrols and other vehicles also rushed to the spots to lend a helping hand to other rescue teams, he said.

They immediately secured the safety of the injured people and extinguished the fires which broke out in a number of vehicles as a result of the string impact of collision, he said. The injured were taken to the nearest hospitals.

He said that until 2pm yesterday, three people had died and 317 people of different nationalities suffered injuries, of whom six were serious, 39 moderate and 272 were slightly hurt.

As many as 34 people who were hurt in the accidents were discharged after being given first aid.

Colonel Hamad Adeel Al Shamsi, Director of Traffic and Patrols Department, said rescue and evacuation of the injured were made within hours despite the obstacles. Evacuation and rescue of the injured took time due to the bad weather and the mess caused by 12 big buses that had rammed into each other.

Non-adherence to the rule of keeping safe distance between vehicles, traffic jams during the peak hours coupled with heavy fog that enveloped the area had contributed to the tragedy, he said.

Colonel Shamsi urged users of highways to take caution, especially in early morning, and keep sufficient and safe distance to avoid crashing into the rear of other cars. Source

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Abu Dhabi - Dubai highway horror!

Media in the United Arab Emirates reported four separate accidents, the largest involving more than 200 cars, on the highway connecting the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The biggest wreck began in the early morning near Ghantoot, about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) from Dubai. At least 25 cars burned among the 200 that piled up as the fog and high speeds made for a deadly mixture, police said.

Six people were killed, at least 200 were injured and dozens of vehicles burned Tuesday when hundreds of cars collided on a fog-shrouded Abu Dhabi - Dubai highway.
The accident resulted in a 20-kilometer (12-mile) traffic jam that lasted for several hours.

Smaller accidents accounted for up to 100 damaged vehicles, according to media reports.

Traffic accidents are a leading cause of death in the United Arab Emirates because drivers often travel at high speeds.

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New Al Garhoud Bridge to open 'within days'

Dubai's new Al Garhoud Bridge will open later this week after final touches have been made, a Roads and Transport Authority spokesman said on Saturday.

“The bridge is ready to be opened within days”, the official told UAE daily Gulf News, adding that access from Al Rebat Road will also be opened.

“Traffic congestion on roads leading to the bridge will be a thing of the past once it fully opens” he said.

Four lanes of the bridge were opened in December from Bur Dubai to Deira, with two lanes from Deira to Bur Dubai also opened in January.

The bridge will boast seven lanes in each direction in total and will carry up to 16,000 vehicles per hour, double its existing capacity. Source

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10-year retirement for vehicles

The Dubai Municipality has suggested a 10-year retirement for vehicles on the Dubai Roads.
This comes after a study conducted under the project called 'On-road Vehicle Emission Measurement Using Remote Sensing Device' (RSD) on Dubai roads, which was conducted by the civic body officials.

The project, which had been on for 10 months, has revealed that the vehicle pollution in Dubai is around 13 per cent (for vehicles using petrol) while the pollution rate in the US cities like Virginia is 2.5 per cent and Michigan 2 per cent and that in Canada is 4.7 per cent.

The study also showed the pollution rate of vehicles using diesel in Dubai stood at around 19 per cent.

Dubai Municipality and the Roads and Transport Authority were considering the removal of old vehicles from Dubai roads in a bid to reduce pollution levels.

Engineer Redha Hassan Salman, Head of Environmental Protection and Safety Section in the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality, said the higher emission of pollutants in Dubai was attributed to the high temperature, which goes up to 47.5 degree Celsius.

Five major air pollutants detected

The civic body conducted the survey at 43 locations across the city in cooperation with RTA and Dubai Police with the aim of formulating effective strategies and policies to control vehicle emissions which account for over 75 per cent of the city's air pollutants.

'The idea was to measure pollutant levels in a vehicle's tailpipe while the vehicle is plying on the road. Five major air pollutants — hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and smoke emissions — were detected. The remote sensing technology helped avoid connecting the testing device physically to a vehicle.

Feasible step to reduce pollution

'Based on the study, we suggest retirement of vehicles on Dubai roads after 10 years as a feasible step to reduce pollution,' said Salman.

He noted that emission measurement was evaluated for both public and private sectors for Dubai-and non-Dubai-licensed vehicles covering taxis, buses (public transport, schools, and labourers), heavy vehicles such as trucks and trailers, and private and public cars, in addition to the age of motor vehicles and fuel fleet usage.

The main two factors

'Two factors point to the worsening air pollution situation in Dubai. They are the rapid pace of urbanisation and motorisation. The statistics showed that motor vehicles increased by about 12 per cent on an average annually. Dubai has 541 vehicles per thousand population, which is higher than New York (444), London (345) and Singapore (111),' Salman added. He said that there had been an increase of 30 per cent in the number of vehicles in Dubai from that of 2005 (465,000 vehicles including 5,000 taxis).

'Vehicles in Dubai take 3.1 million trips a day, which is expected to increase to 13.1 million trips a day by the year 2020. This is precisely the reason behind embarking on such a project to know the percentage of vehicles exceeding the emission limit compared to other countries of the world,' the official added.

Among the surveyed vehicles, 87 per cent (96,361) were Dubai registered and the rest (13,808) were registered in the other emirates. Source

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"Safety in the Safety Belt"

Dubai Police yesterday distributed 20 car seats for children in the Jumeirah area as part of their ongoing traffic campaign titled "Safety in the Safety Belt".

The campaign was launched by the Dubai Traffic Police in collaboration with Santis HSE Group and Gargash Enterprises on February 24.

Under the two-week campaign, around 100 car seats will be distributed free to motorists found driving with little children without proper car seats, police sources said. Besides, motorists will be educated on the importance of the use of seat belts for children, he added. Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Director General of Dubai Traffic Police, said that people should not travel without properly seating the children in the car seat. "By distributing car seats for children, we want to protect the children from fatalities," he said.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani national who was given a car seat for his child, praised Dubai Police for their concern about children's safety. "It had never occurred to me earlier that I should be using seat belts for my child," he said.

Um Zaid, a school teacher, also praised the campaign to promote seat belts for children, saying the initiative will protect children from injuries. Source

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Garhoud bridge to be fully operational by the end of this month

Work is on in full swing for the opening of the new Garhoud Bridge, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of this month, according to an official in the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Without specifying the date of the opening, he said the bridge will be fully opened to motorists soon.

The RTA has already opened four lanes from Bur Dubai to Deira and two lanes from Deira to Bur Dubai. Moreover, two lanes from Sharjah to Bur Dubai have also been diverted to the new bridge.

The Salik toll gates, which were located before the old Al Garhoud Bridge (Dubai-Sharjah direction) have been shifted to the new bridge.

The bridge consists of 14 lanes, seven for traffic bound from Bur Dubai to Deira and seven for traffic heading from Deira to Bur Dubai. Source

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Police issue 2,300 fines as federal traffic law comes into effect

Police issued around 2,300 traffic offences on the first day of the new federal traffic law on Saturday.

Lieutenant Colonel Saif Al Mazroui, Acting Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said 700 fines were issued in Bur Dubai while 1,600 fines were issued in Deira.

Lieutenant Colonel Al Mazroui said most of the offenders were pulled up for not wearing seatbelts, blocking traffic and not abiding by lane lines.

The fine for not wearing seatbelts is Dh400 and four black points, and the fine for blocking traffic is Dh200. Source

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New federal traffic law - harsher penalties

Starting on Saturday, police across the UAE began implementing a federal traffic law which introduces harsher penalties for traffic violations.
The new rules also included the introduction of the black points system across the country against motorists found to be violating traffic rules.
If a motorist collects 24 black points for various offences, they risk confiscation of their license for a minimum of three months.

Click here for the list of violations, fines and black points (pdf).

Source

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Tinted windows: 4,020 motorists fined

The Dubai Police have during the last two months fined 4,020 motorists for tinting car windows over the 30 per cent permitted limit.
The Acting Deputy Director of Dubai Police Traffic Department, Major Saif Al Mazroui, told Khaleej Times that during the first phase which focused on Dubai Police General Headquarters and the Traffic Department buildings, 110 police officers were fined for violating the rule.

Several policemen and other employees who had parked their cars outside the Dubai Police premises were also fined.

Major Al Mazroui said the Traffic Police have impounded the violators’ cars for two weeks after issuing on-the spot fines of Dh500 each.

“By this action, we want the officials to know that they should respect the law first, before applying it to the public,” he said, adding that it was also intended to let the public know that neither the police nor any government official was above the law.

The Traffic Department has prepared a schedule to continue its random inspections and in the next few days various police stations and Dubai Punitive and Corrective Establishment will be targeted.

The Dubai Police will also conduct a campaign to ensure that police officials are complying by the new traffic laws. “We will check their car registration papers, tyres and other traffic-related safety matters,” he said.

Commenting on the penalties, Major Al Mazroui said, “First will we issue them an administrative warning and seize their car for one or two weeks depending on the type of violations.”

“ If the car windows are tinted more than 30 per cent, the car will be impounded for a week, but if the windows are found to be 100 per cent tinted, the car will be impounded for a month,” he pointed out.

He added that, in general, the Dubai Police officials are complying by the traffic laws and the police officials who have been fined for window tinting represent less that one per cent of the total number of motorists fined since the beginning of the current year.

He stated that Dubai Police have launched the campaign because tinting of windows and jumping of red signals are more serious violations.

The tinting of windows above the prescribed limit also prevents the police from following up criminals who may hide or would not be able to identify drivers photographed by the radar camera in the hit-and-run case, he explained.

He said that nobody is allowed to tint windows above the prescribed limit except those who have a medical certificate stating that they have certain allergy that is caused due to excessive heat and sunlight.

He said that also women are allowed to tint their car windows for their own security.

Major Al Mazroui said that Dubai Police has requested the other departments concerned, such as RTA and Dubai Public Prosecution to take the initiative and help Dubai Police carry out surprise inspections targeting over-tinted car windshields. Source

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No black points for parking vehicles in prohibited areas

Motorists parking their vehicles in prohibited areas need not fear of getting black points for the violation registered in absentia, a senior official of the Ministry of Interior has clarified

Colonel Ghaith Al Za'abi, Director of the Traffic Department, Ministry of Interior, said yesterday: "If a traffic policeman found an empty car parked in a prohibited place, he would issue a ticket in absentia. In this case, no black points will be added to the motorist's traffic record. He should, however, pay Dh200 as fine for the offence.

"However, if the driver is present, a ticket will be issued for the violation and the motorist will get two black points," he explained.

Answering a question about the implementation of the black point system in the midst of the parking crisis in the country, he said, "The ministry is well aware of the parking woes in all emirates. We have taken this into account and that is why we don't register black points in absentia.

"Though the ministry is not responsible for this crisis, the traffic departments are coordinating with municipalities for securing parking lots."

A number of multi-storey parking facilities would be built across the country, he added. Source

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Stricter traffic penalties across UAE

According to the amendments to the federal traffic law as well as the 24 black points system that will come into force on March 1, the licence of a driver will be seized for three months when he gets 24 black points for the first time, General Saif Al Shafar, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, said yesterday.

If the driver reaches 24 points again, his licence will be seized for six months. In case the offence is repeated for the third time, the licence will be seized for a year, and will not be returned to the driver unless he/she completes a training course in a driving institute. The black points accumulated may be cancelled a year later if the total black points registered in that year do not exceed 24. However, fine will still be applicable. Source

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