Motorists stick to slow track as trucks defy peak-hour ban

Sharjah: Heavy trucks continue to ply Sharjah roads during peak hours despite a ban, causing a major setback to motorists.

Drivers of heavy vehicles weighing 2.5 tonnes or more were ordered to stay off Sharjah roads during peak hours or face stiff penalties. The order, which has been in place since 2004, bars trucks from the roads during peak hours from 6.30am to 8.30am, 1pm to 3pm and from 5.30pm to 8pm.

"I take the Emirates Road as my daily route to reach Dubai, and heavy trucks can always be found in the morning," said Noor Atta Allah, who leaves home at 7am.

"I know that the truck drivers are only doing their job, so it is not fair that the blame should be on them. Companies should know that their trucks are the main reason for the delays on the road, and that their drivers' schedules should be changed," she said.

Motorists were keen to point out that police patrols sometime monitor the roads and force the drivers to stop their trucks on the hard shoulder.

"It is chaos when the truck drivers are stopped by the police because it stops the traffic to a complete halt as we have to give way for the trucks to pass us and park by the road," said Sarah Mohammad.

"Another nuisance is when their load falls on to the road, and then I have to worry about not bumping into them. It is stressful having to face these problems nearly every day, and more should be done by the authorities to stop the trucks from passing through at peak hours," she said.

Not every truck needs to pass through the city streets, as a few among them have had no choice but to go on the city streets because they have to pick up or offload their goods either from the Sharjah ports or the industrial areas.

It was noticed that trucks, which transport goods from Sharjah ports, tend to violate more as they often pass through the city roads during prohibited hours to join the highway, leading to tailbacks on Al Khan Road, Al Tawuun Road and Sharjah Ring Road.

These trucks often pose a threat to other motorists and are potentially hazardous as they do not keep to the speed limits while driving alongside smaller vehicles.

"The truck drivers are always causing problems on the roads because they are so big and take up two lanes because they do not know how to drive properly. There is not enough space to keep away from them because the roads in the city are not wide enough and accidents can easily happen," said Abdul Razak.

The traffic trucks are causing on Mina Rashid road signal leading to Immigration between 8am and 9am is huge. Please do something about that. It takes 20 min to cross that signal!
Ziad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 13:08

The reason for heavy traffic is, of course, unavoidable, due to the number of vehicles, roadworks and Salik. But it will be very kind if higher authorities take some means to reduce the traffic by putting traffic police on important junctions. If they just stand there during peak hours at every important junction it would smooth things out, at least to some level. At least it will be very kind if they do it until they solve the road problems. Authorities should care not only in Dubai, and also in Sharjah simultaneously.
Mohamed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 12:59

The third lane was mostly full of heavy vehicles this morning. This forced pick-ups to take the second lane. The traffic was a nightmare this morning. Looks like the heavy vehicle drivers are aware that cops won't be on the road this time during Ramadan, hence happily they violate the rule.
Shani
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 11:30

Authorities should take serious action against the violation of law from the heavy vehicles. They are causing serious problems in traffic. In Ramadan it took two and a half hours to reach my home in sharjah through Emirates roads.
Taha
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 11:00

It is really hard to drive here. Especially if you had to travel daily from Sharjah-Dubai-Sharjah. First of all Dubai-Sharjah Road is closed and can be used only by Salik users. At the other hand we have only two alternatives, to use Airport Tunnel or Emirates Road. After the tunnel there are a lot of diversions as the metro works are done there, and then what is left is Emirates Road. If you go there you must PRAY that you won't be hit by a truck, cos the first two lanes are only with heavy trucks. And they even do not care about small cars. They never give you way. And everywhere else heavy trucks are banned from using highways or city roads from 6:30 morning up to 22:00 evening. I think it is for the safety for all of us that trucks do not pass in peak times. We all know how many people lost their lives from this careless driving, we must save the city and the people live in here.
An
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 10:16

I agree with this article about trucks clogging the roads during peak times. During ramadan it has become even worse, especially on Emirates road. Even with the opening of 3 new lanes there is heavy traffic jam while going towards Sharjah and is literally taking 2 hours to reach home from Dubai to Sharjah. The authorities need to enforce laws by practically fining the companies.
Shaaista
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 10:07

There is no traffic control on the Emirates Road near natioanl paints roundabout. Trucks are blocking the road completely and the transition of six lanes from Dubai to three lanes at Sharjah causes heavy congestion.
Vinu
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 09:42

Heavy vehicles of all types should be banned from 6am to 10am everyday, to ensure that they do not add to the morning hour rush. There are not enough police patrols on the road, and the drivers have a free hand. The congestion is all the way from the Khalid Port to Al Khan road, Al Tawun Road, Troy University Roundabout and all roads within Industrial Area are clogged. In order to ensure that people travelling from Sharjah to Dubai have a little less stress to deal with, Sharjah Police needs to enforce the morning rush hour "No Heavy Vehicle" rule.
Kazim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 09:27

On Al Khail road trucks are not adhering to the ban. At 7am they are driving on this road and slowing the cars down going to Jebel Ali.
Roshney
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 08:59

It is high time that the Dubai authorities do something about the trucks. Even on the main roads in Deira.
Mathew
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 08:54

I travel everyday from Ajman to Dubai and back to Ajman. There is not even a day that trucks are not violating rules. They are on the road at 7 in the morning and evening at 5.30 and the way they drive is a scary scene on the roads. They literally take one and a half lanes and are close to the other vehicles with full load in it. They should be banned entering on the prohibited time and should be more law abiding and give respect to other vehicles. They are most careless drivers I have ever seen.
Sudhesh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 08:24

I strongly agreed that traffic in major roads halts due to heavy vehicles like trucks and buses. I really appreciate the authorities to take measure to avoid trucks and other heavy vehicles off the road during peak hours.
Mohamed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 08:24

Last Thursday (20. Sept) it took me three hours to travel from Dubai to Ajman, a journey which usually takes me 1 hour. There was an incredible number of large trucks causing traffic to come to a stand-still at each and every intersection and highway exit. Especially during Ramadan, where everyone finishes work between 2 - 3pm, the truck ban should be enforced even more by the police.
Jessica H.
Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Posted: September 23, 2007, 08:08

The trucks are a curse. They should not be on the roads between 6am-9am and from 4pm-7pm. There are more than enough hours during the night when the roads are quiet and containers etc can be transported across the Emirates. The Green Community roundabout is a fine example of how the trucks cause complete chaos.
Alan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 07:49

We need to hold on, on blaming truck drivers and their truks on the road. These guys are delivering our daily needs to supermakets, stores, reataurants, etc. They need to be on the road just like every one of us. It's the Road and Traffic System that has failed to properly address such infrastructure and needs in the City/Country.
Karkain
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 02:28

I have seen several times trucks driving on second lane on Emirates Road which casue problems for the cars.
Adeel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 23, 2007, 00:35