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Dubai: Incidents of people being run over by vehicles have increased during the last few days despite police intensifying campaigns to fine jaywalkers and curb such incidents.
At least two people were killed this week and four were injured while crossing the roads from undesignated spots. Yesterday, one person was killed when a truck reversed and ran over him as he was standing behind the vehicle in Jebel Ali Port, police said.
Police said the accident took place at 11am near Gate 3 of the port, which is a trucks assembly location. The victim died on the spot.
Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said there have been many accidents that should not have occurred such as the recent accident in Jebel Ali, as some people tend to sleep behind or under trucks for shade, especially at workplaces. He said drivers also must pay full attention once they are behind the wheels.
Last week, police reported a number of similar accidents which led to deaths and injuries.
A jaywalker was killed in a run over accident on Shaikh Zayed Road near Ibn Battuta Mall on Thursday. Police said the driver was not paying attention while driving and the victim was not crossing from a designated area.
In a separate accident last Friday, two jaywalkers sustained injuries when a car ran over them as they were trying to cross the road from an undesignated area on Salah Al Deen Road near the Fish Roundabout. One of the victims sustained serious injuries and was taken to the hospital while the other sustained minor injuries.
Brigadier Al Zafein said run over accidents do not have a certain time period.
"We have traffic patrols patrolling the roads, especially highways, but it is not possible to monitor the entire road round the clock. It is not possible to control run over accidents," Brigadier Al Zafein said.
He said unless safe pedestrian crossings are provided, it is not possible to control run-over accidents.
He said such accidents have increased drastically and this is because of a lack of pedestrian crossings and lack of road safety awareness. Run-over accidents comprise 30 to 40 per cent of total deaths on Dubai roads annually.
Brigadier Al Zafein said the campaign launched by the traffic department against jaywalkers is continuing and the department will implement stiff penalties on those who cross roads from undesignated areas.
He said traffic patrols and policemen issued fines for 307 jaywalkers who crossed from undesignated areas during the Eid holidays. He said police also filed reports against 33 jaywalkers. The fine for crossing from undesignated areas is Dh200.
Smart radars on roads
Motorists will no longer be able to evade radars on highways as police have started installing smart radars which can catch speeding motorists from a distance.
Dubai Traffic police have installed 15 new smart radars on Dubai roads which can observe in both directions.
The new radar can observe vehicles in both directions up to 500 metres with clarity and one kilometer with less clarity. Forty more such radars will be installed soon to curb traffic offences, especially speeding.
Gulf News earlier reported that the traffic police will install 500 radars after the Eid holidays, 50 of which will be on Shaikh Zayed Road alone.
The Bur Dubai Traffic Department issued 36,101 traffic offences last September.
Lane line violation by light vehicles topped the list of offences followed by blocking traffic and parking in prohibited areas. Most of the offences were reported on highways.
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