UAE | Traffic and Transport
Rash overtaking main cause of accidents
Incorrect overtaking is one of the main causes of fatal traffic accidents that claim hundreds of lives every year, according to traffic officers.
- By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 01:24 March 7, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Incorrect overtaking is one of the main causes of fatal traffic accidents that claim hundreds of lives every year, according to traffic officers.
Last year 233 people died and 93 accidents occurred because of incorrect overtaking. Over 19,400 traffic fines were issued for this offence alone.
A Gulf Traffic Week is being organised simultaneously throughout the GCC to focus on this issue under the slogan "Wrong Overtaking Kills". The week-long campaign starts tomorrow.
"The sudden change of lanes to overtake another vehicle is a major cause of accidents," said Colonel Hamad Adil Al Shamsi, Director of the Department of Traffic and Patrol Police, announcing the campaign.
The locations for the campaign include the Marina Mall and Al Mawakeb School.
A game has been designed to educate drivers about the new traffic law and black points.
Al Shamsi said overtaking on the hard shoulder was very dangerous. Not only does the limited space and rough surface increase the risk of an accident, there might be another vehicle parked in it and the driver could run into this car.
Ego
"It hurts the ego of some drivers if someone overtakes him. This kind of ego problem also needs to be corrected. If a driver feels this way, then it creates a tendency to compete with fellow road users and may result in accidents," he said.
New law: Licences seized
Fifteen driving licences have been confiscated over the past five days across the UAE following the new traffic law coming into force on March 1, senior police officers said.
Four driving licences were confiscated in Abu Dhabi alone, while two were taken for drink-driving, the other two were for jumping red lights.
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