Abu Dhabi: Drivers are being urged to remain cautious on the road and to reduce speed during low visibility, the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at the General Directorate of Central Operations of Abu Dhabi Police said on Tuesday.
The directorate also asked motorists to leave a safe distance between vehicles, refrain from overtaking, use low lights of the vehicle and to double the safety distance than they would under normal conditions.
Brigadier Khalifa Mohammad Al Khaili, Acting Director of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, noted that the directorate reinforces control and surveillance procedures during foggy conditions.
“The directorate is also implementing an emergency plan in collaboration with the departments of Civil Defence, ambulance and rescue services, in order to promptly transfer the injured to hospitals; clear damaged vehicles off the road; and divert traffic to other lanes in case of traffic accidents, especially with the foggy conditions that are set to continue for the next few days, according to the National Center for Meteorology’s forecasts,” he said.
Brig Al Khaili noted that safety procedures during foggy conditions include preventing trucks, heavy vehicles and workers’ buses from travelling on the road in foggy conditions until the fog clears. The directorate has also called on motorists to refrain from commuting on roads until horizontal visibility improves. The official pointed to the Traffic Law preventing “trucks and heavy vehicles weighing 2.5 tonnes or more from using external and internal roads, and from entering Abu Dhabi City during foggy conditions and peak hours, until the fog clears”.
Brig Al Khaili called on owners of workers’ transport companies to enhance traffic awareness among their drivers, by urging them to abide by traffic laws during fog and to postpone their journey in case of low horizontal vision until the fog clears.
He also advised drivers not to use hazard lights during fog until they have come to a full stop on the right shoulder of the road.
