Abu Dhabi: Heavy peak-hour traffic coupled with accidents in hotspots clogged several streets in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill in some areas.
Hundreds of vehicles were caught in the city's gridlock for hours, resulting in chaos.
A traffic police chief said a few minor accidents in hotspots during peak hour created the problem.
The Abu Dhabi municipality said that the situation was triggered when a sand-laden truck overturned on Al Salam Street, near the bridge close to Shaikh Haza Bin Zayed Street.
At around 9am, police recorded traffic congestion near the Musaffah industrial area tunnel following an accident, but the traffic flow was restored about 40 minutes later. The accident involved seven cars but no one was injured in the incident, the police said.
Severe traffic congestion hit the area near Al Rahba Hospital on the way toward Abu Dhabi from Dubai and police closed the area to traffic for more than an hour.
Complete halt
Sachdeva Kumar, a daily commuter who was passing by the area, said: "I did not see any accidents but the traffic was moving at snail's pace for some distance and even came to a complete halt at times".
At around 9.30am, Abu Dhabi Police confirmed that traffic congestion had hit the Tourist Club area, Najda Street, Salam Street, Hamdan Street and urged motorists to drive with caution.
Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols department director Colonel Engineer Ahmad Hussain Al Harthi said: "An accident involving a truck, traffic diversions on some roads due to ongoing projects, and few other minor accidents resulted in the gridlock".
The high intensity of the traffic at the start of the week, especially since schools had begun the new academic year, contributed to the situation, he said. "The truck accident happened due to overloading of the vehicle and ended up obstructing the traffic," Col Al Harthi said.
Traffic police used a crane to move the truck off the road and clear the road of debris.
After the breakdown of vehicles near traffic signals yesterday compounded the traffic congestion, Col Al Harthi urged motorists to ensure their vehicles were properly maintained. A municipality spokesman said: "Traffic violations committed by some drivers and their failure to abide by the rules aggravated the problem".
Becoming frequent
Commuter Antonio Matt, who lives in Dubai and works in Abu Dhabi, said: "The traffic went berserk once again, just like it happened few days ago. Authorities must do something about it as such situations are becoming frequent.
The driver said he was caught in a traffic jam near the Rahba hospital for about 20 minutes, and then in Electra St for another 50 minutes.
The situation was similar last Sunday, he added.
Subaida Khatoon, who works at a construction company, said yesterday: "It was horrible. I had to inform the office that I'll be reach late since I could not find a cab despite waiting for more than 90 minutes," she said.
In June, the city witnessed a five-hour-long traffic jam, which municipality staff said was caused after a crane broke down as it was being driven through the city, blocking an intersection.
My stressful journey to work
My normal, seven-minute commute exceeded two hours for reasons yet unknown.
A mysterious phenomenon caused a traffic jam that rippled throughout the capital. I left my home in Khalidiya at 8.45am, intending as usual to take Zayed First street to my workplace.
But I was doomed to get to work only in time for lunch.
Across from the Etisalat building near the Cultural Foundation, traffic was at a complete standstill for nearly an hour because travellers from four directions were so interlocked we could not move.
Trying to escape from a main street to an alternate side street was useless as traffic in the lanes, as in the rest of the city, had come to a standstill.
The concern is not necessarily the traffic but the Abu Dhabi road network, where a problem in one area can convert the streets into parking lots.
A call to the police to report the problem also went unanswered and this got me thinking about what people in an emergency would do.
An American friend G.G., who is on a short business trip in the capital and had hired a car for the first time, called me in a state of panic.
“Driving in Abu Dhabi stressed me out because people zigzag for no reason,” G.G. said.
“Today as people grew restless, their driving practices bordered on the dangerous.”
Hanging up with my friend, I attempted to ask a policeman for help so that I could reach my office more quickly. But the crowd and the heat had probably got on the policeman’s nerves as well, who impatiently waved me on.
- Iman Sherif, Staff Reporter
