Dubai: Have you spotted this red road in Dubai?
#RTA has started coloring asphalt in “Red" in parts of streets subject to change in speed limits 1/3 pic.twitter.com/UKrcZZsy4L
— RTA (@RTA_Dubai) June 9, 2017
According to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, the experiment involved colouring all lanes in an eye-catching style to alert road users of the new speed limit.
This is the first initiative of its kind carried out in Dubai, and the RTA has confirmed that the asphalt colouring will also be used in other areas of the city, such as Shaikh Zayed Road and the Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road.
Currently, you can spot the red road on Oud Metha Street near the Bu Kadrah Interchange, along the extension of Dubai-Al Ain Street. The maximum speed limit was reduced recently from 100 to 80 kilometres per hour.
Maitha Bin Adai, chief executive officer at the RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said: “The process involved colouring all lanes in an eye-catching style to alert road users of the new speed limit. Asphalt colouring will also be used in phases at locations subject to speed changes on other vital roads in Dubai.”
She said that the next red-coloured road will be on Sheikh Zayed Road near the fifth interchange, with the speed limit changing from 120 km/ph to 100 km/ph.
It will also be applied to the Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road near Lehbab, with the speed limit also set to reduce from 120 km/ph to 100 km/ph, “so that motorists can avoid speeding and radar tickets,” said Bin Adai.
“We anticipate that this course of action will contribute to lowering the number of future accidents. Similar previous actions have contributed to reducing the number of traffic deaths on key streets and highways, which are witnessing the largest number of traffic accidents in the emirate,” said Bin Adai.
Traffic fatalities
The number of traffic fatalities have fallen from 332 in 2006 to 166 in 2015, with mortality rates also declining from 21.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2006 to 3.5 per 100,000 people in 2016.
The number of traffic deaths on Shaikh Zayed Road has declined from 17 in 2015 to 10 in 2016, due to the RTA’s safety initiatives, and the number of traffic fatalities on the Dubai-Al Ain Road has fallen from 10 in 2015 to eight in 2016.
Source: Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai
