Dubai Residents of Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) say they fear for their lives when crossing the road as red light jumping and bypassing the newly installed signals are rampant in the neighbourhood.
“It has become more of a norm than an exception. I see it almost every day. An accident is just waiting to happen here,” said Belgian expat Jelle, who has been living here for three years.
Another resident, South African expat Darry, said he has seen even cab drivers jumping the red light. “I stopped one of them, but he shrugged off the issue saying he didn’t see the signal,” the father of two recalled.
“Now I slow down even if the signal is green. You never know if there is someone speeding from the other side,” he said.
Jumping the red light in Dubai resulted in seven deaths last year. The police see it as a very serious offence. Violators are fined Dh800 and given eight black points. Their cars are also impounded for 15 days.
But the deterrent doesn’t seem to work here.
Sure enough, residents are calling for increased police patrolling and installation of cameras. “These reckless drivers pose a serious threat to all of us, especially children, who cross the roads to the parks nearby,” said Patrick, pointing to one such potential danger zone.
Located between Emirates Road and Al Khail Road, JVT is a self-contained community with villas and townhouses.
Residents attributed the apparent rise in the number of traffic violations to increased occupancy following construction of some new districts.
“Perhaps we are facing an issue here because there are more people now or there is diversity in demographics. We’ve people who want to drive slow and youngsters who want to go fast, not caring about speed bumps or traffic signals,” said a resident.
A social networking page of the community has numerous posts by angry residents. “I was at the pedestrian crossing when a four-wheel zoomed past me, leaving me in utter shock. There is no way we can justify such behaviour,” read one such post.
