Dubai: Full car check-ups and taking breaks after driving for more than four hours are key to safety on long road trips, a Dubai Police official has said.
First Lieutenant Abdul Aziz Al Shummari, Director of the Events and Functions Departmemt, Deira — part of the Dubai Police Traffic Department — told Gulf News that it is not enough to just do a car oil and filter change every month.
He explained that it is very important that a routine complete “bumper to bumper” check be done on the car every six months, especially if one takes long cross-country road trips.
“The check up should include everything, piping, lights, tyres, breaks and all-even the windscreen wipers.
“A small pipe malfunction could cause the car to catch fire.” he said.
“Many people do not wear the seat belt when they travel outside the country, we urge them to. It is for their own safety.” Al Shummari explained.
Paying attention to the road is very important he also said.
“If one drives over four hours in a row, he should stop the car and walk around for a bit or rest somewhere. This is to ward off sleepiness and refresh oneself.”
He added that sometimes roads are poorly lit or there is no lighting at all.
“In these situations people should be very cautious and carefully assess the distances between cars, especially when overtaking because it is more difficult in the dark.”
In narrow, dimly lit roads with no barriers in between, he said, some truck drivers are used to travelling on such roads and have a code to warn people of coming cars.
“The driver might take to the yellow line to allow you to go past him or he would put on the right signal light to indicate that there is no car on the other side and you can overtake him.
“If he puts on the left signal, then there is a car coming and you should wait before overtaking the truck.” he explained.