Sharjah: I wish to highlight the dangerous driving happening on the Emirates Road, formerly known as Dubai Bypass Road. I travel from Sharjah to the Al Barsha area, in Dubai and back daily and use the Emirates Road for my commute.
Travelling in the evening, at 6.30pm, towards Sharjah on Emirates Road is a nightmare, especially close to the Maliha Road exit. All heavy trucks use this road at that time and they occupy the last lane, which is the exit lane to Sharjah.
The traffic congestion starts from the Aweer exit and it takes more than 45 minutes to reach the Sharjah exit because the cars seem to be moving at a snail’s pace.
While we wait in the long queues, cars are seen speeding ahead using the hard shoulder, or emergency lane, on both sides. If they spot a police vehicle monitoring the emergency lane, they force their way into the proper lanes. Once they pass by the police vehicle, they are back to their own ways.
They travel at such high speeds that if there is a car parked there due to an emergency, there will definitely be an accident.
By chance if there is an accident, which is now a regular occurrence on this road, we can see police vehicles parked on either side of the road and this is when you can see all the motorists driving in a decent manner on the road.
I suggest that the authorities should consider setting a specific time for the heavy trucks to move on this road during the evening. This would reduce the traffic near the Sharjah exit during the evening hours.
Additionally, there could at least be a police vehicle or radars monitoring the motorists who break the rules by driving in the emergency lane or hard shoulder. This could record their bad behaviour and the motorists should be punished to raise some fear in their minds. They do not value other people’s lives and only think about themselves.
— The reader works in finance and is based in Sharjah.
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