Dubai: Residents of a Sharjah neighbourhood are urging authorities to crackdown on reckless drivers who reverse into oncoming traffic at a busy bridge every morning in order to avoid rush-hour tailbacks.
They say the ‘traffic cheats’ put other motorists and pedestrians at risk by backing up in the wrong direction at the strategically located Al Nahda bridge.
“A policeman stands guard from around 7am but there must be more checks as the recklessness of these cheats can kill someone,” says Joseph Kurien, who lives in the vicinity. “Only the other day I saw a car hit a pedestrian while reversing. It was obviously the fault of the driver because he was going the wrong way, not the man crossing the road. Thankfully he got away with only minor injuries.”
Rush-hour chaos
Round-the-clock congestion on the Al Nahda bridge had dogged residents of the crowded locality for years until traffic dividers were installed around last July to demarcate the flow of vehicles, especially during rush hour.
However, residents say it has lately led to heavy traffic jams around the adjacent Al Nahda Park, with some Dubai-bound motorists – the cheats – choosing to sneak out using the ‘back door’ instead of going round the park.
“Some have been fined but most get away because they time it so well. It’s a regular affair for them, so much so that by now even I can recognise some of the serial offenders,” said a morning jogger who didn’t want to be named.
An XPRESS reader this week sent a video clip of three cars in a row reversing, with hazard lights on, against the oncoming traffic, forcing other motorists to brake. As many as seven cars – from commercial pick-up vans to private cars to taxis - dodged traffic in exactly the same fashion in less than a minute XPRESS spent one morning this week.
“I have seen even big buses pull off the same trick,” said another resident. “It may save them some 10-15 minutes but it can’t justify the manner in which they endanger others.”
