Dubai: Police will immediately impound vehicles of motorists caught driving dangerously in poor weather.
This is among the tough measures the Dubai Police are implementing in its "Driving in poor weather safety campaign" that was launched on Monday.
The campaign will run from December 6 to 19, according to Dubai Police.
Click here for the list of violations, fines and black points (pdf)
"We noticed that the police operations room receives more complaints about road accidents around this time of year because of the weather changes that may be hazardous for motorists such as fog, rain or strong winds," said Major General Jasem Mohammad Bel Rumaitha, Director of Dubai Police Operations.
According to police statistics the number of accidents occurring in poor weather in the first 10 months of this year was 28, the majority taking place in rainy weather.
"We had three fatalities alone this year because of the fog only, a serious number considering the number of days we have of good weather in comparison to the number of days we have of poor weather.
"The campaign will hopefully address this problem and educate motorists about the dangers of speeding in fog or during poor weather," said Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of the General Traffic Department at Dubai Police.
Statistics also indicate that the number of accidents and fatalities caused by poor weather has decreased from last year.
In 2009, police reported 64 accidents that occurred in poor weather with the majority of them, 54 occurring in rainy weather.
The number of fatalities in the same year was five, which resulted from accidents caused by rainy weather.
Special rescue team
"Authorities have taken appropriate measures in dealing with problems caused by the rainy weather such as having a specialised rescue team in the Hatta police station to deal with emergency flooding situations and taking necessary measures against road flooding," said Major General Bel Rumaitha.
Safety tips when driving during storms:
- Keep an appropriate distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you
- Slow down and be aware of the road markers
- Avoid speeding and sudden braking
- During a storm don't park your car under trees, phone or electricity lines, billboards or buildings under construction
When driving during rainy weather
- Avoid sudden braking which might result in the car skidding on the wet road
- If the car skids and you lose control, turn the wheel in the opposite direction the car is skidding
- If the car is sliding due to the use of car brakes, step gently on the brakes until the car comes to a halt.
When driving in fog
- Drive slowly and well below the speed limit
- Double the space between your vehicle and vehicles ahead of you
- Park the car on the side of the road if visibility is too poor for driving
- Turn off emergency lights but keep fog lights switched on
