UAE | Weather

Safety drive in place for rough weather

28 road accidents in past 10 months due to fogging conditions

By Nada Al Taher and Janice Ponce de Leon, Gulf News
Published: 18:16 November 24, 2012

Image Credit: Courtesy: NCMS
Water flowing at a wadi in Ras Al Khaimah after the rains on Thursday.

Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police and the Ministry of Interior have launched a road safety initiative during weather changes such as fog.

As the country prepares to face alternating weather conditions in the upcoming months, an entire plan for road safety has been put into place and is ready for execution, according to Col Khamis Ishaq Mohammad, Deputy Director of the Traffic and Patrols department.

Patrol cars will be increased patrol on inner and external roads, prohibiting trucks from travelling during fog.

Heavy vehicles will be banned from inner and external roads in Abu Dhabi city until any fog is cleared.

The official revealed that severe punishments will be handed out to violators, vehicles could be impounded for one month plus a Dh200 fine and 12 black points.

During the past 10 months of this year, there have been 28 road accidents due to a change in weather conditions, 22 of which were from fog while the remaining from rain.

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Two people died during those accidents while three others were severely injured due to drivers’ reported failure to adhere to traffic rules.

Col Khamis Ishaq Mohammad said: “Efforts will be made to raise awareness by directing tips and advice towards drivers, guiding them to roads where traffic is going smoothly and asking them to stay cautious in case of any dangers on the roads.”

He also advised the public to listen to the weather forecast and road conditions before travelling and urged drivers to slow down during rain or fog on both external and inner-city roads.

He added that motorists should also leave a safety distance between each other, avoid overtaking and refrain from using hazard lights during fog.

This came as the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), on Saturday denied rumours posted on a social networking site a thunderstorm was set to make landfall across the country.

In a statement, the weather bureau said that the warning about a thunderstorm with intense rainfall that reduced visibility in Alsala, passing through Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and the rest of the country to Oman yesterday(Saturday) was not true and inaccurate.

“Based on our monitoring, there is no thunderstorm or no active weather disturbance in the country,” a weather forecaster told Gulf News.

He added that the public is advised to visit the website of NCMS (www.ncms.ae) for accurate weather updates or warnings as it is updated regularly.

Weather today(Sunday) is expected to be still partly cloudy in general and cloudy over the north and eastern parts of the country, with no chances of rain.

Wind will be light to moderate blowing southeasterly in general and may be freshening at times.

“This is the transitional period between summer and winter. And it’s normal to experience some weather disturbances,” the weather forecaster said, referring to the rain showers the country experience last week.

The coolest temperature in the country was recorded yesterday(Saturday) in Jebel Jais, north of Ras Al Khaimah, at 10.3 degree Celsius.

The public is therefore advised to take extra precautions and wear warm clothing at night and early in the morning, especially those living in the interior region.

Doctors have warned of an expected rise in people catching seasonal flu as winter sets in and the temperature drops.

Many might experience flu symptoms such as cold, cough, sore throat, headache or fever.

Doctors, however, advise against self-medication and instead encourage people with flu-like symptoms to visit their health care providers as soon as possible.