Dubai: Driving on road shoulder incurs six black points and a fine of Dh600, while parking over the yellow line unless in emergency situations attract a fine of Dh200, said a senior of official from Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), launching a traffic awareness campaign.
The campaign titled ‘For How Long ….?’ is targeting drivers who are not aware of the hazards of parking and driving on road shoulders or beyond the yellow lines on roads, leading to tragic accidents.
“The yellow line is for emergency use only and parking or driving on it is hazardous and will incur fines for the drivers. There have been several cases of accidents due to wrong usage of yellow lines,” said Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic, RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency.
Even in cases of emergency like in cases of vehicle breakdown, motorists are not allowed to park the vehicle there for a long time.
“In case of emergencies, motorists should first place the reflective triangle behind the car to indicate that the vehicle has broken down and inform the police immediately. The vehicle has to be removed in the shortest possible time through the help of recovery,” said Al Banna, adding the there is no specific duration allowed for parking on the road shoulder.
The ‘For How Long?’ campaign is part of RTA’s efforts in association with the Ministry of Interior to bring down accident rates.
The campaign involves various awareness programmes across driving institutes, petrol stations, schools, universities, highways etc. and aims to highlight traffic safety.
“As many as 80 per cent of accidents are caused by rash driving, which includes non-adherence to safety rules and over-speeding, that is the reason why we keep coming up with such campaign especially targeting youth,” he informed.
RTA has chosen 40 students from various universities as their safety ambassadors who will go around spreading awareness of safety aspects on road like, using seat belts, maintaining speed limits, not using mobile phones while driving etc.
The authority has also prepared an educative leaflet entitled “Road Shoulder Safety Guidelines” in conjunction with the Emirates Driving Institute which addresses frequently asked questions about road shoulder. It particular highlights emergency cases where the driver has to use the road shoulder for parking the vehicle.
Al Banna cautioned against parking the vehicle on the road shoulder for having a break, searching maps or making phone calls since such action might be a prime factor in triggering horrific traffic accidents.
