DUBAI: Buses and minibuses are rushing to install road speed limiters (RSL) to comply with a new law.
About 150 vehicles per day are having the devices fixed at centres across the country.
The Dh1,200 device limits the speed of certain vehicles to the mandatory 100km/h set by authorities.
In December 2012, the Ministry of Interior directed all delivery vehicles, passenger and minibuses having up to 22 seats to install speed limiters on or before March 31, 2013 following standards set by the Emirates Standards and Metrology Authority.
While up to 70 per cent of vehicles have been fitted with RSLs, the late ones are in a rush to comply.
There are 43 types of vehicles included in the rule and vehicles that do not have a speed limiter will not get a pass certificate to renew the annual registration.
“People usually wait till the last minute,” said Sherin Radhakrishnan, general manager of Rover Auto Centre in Al Quoz, an authorised RSL installation centre. He said on average they install kits on two vehicles per day. There are 50 centres across the UAE. Over 30 are in Dubai alone.
The move to install RSLs comes in the wake of multiple deaths caused by crashes. In early February, 24 Asian workers died in a bus crash in Al Ain.
Speeding incidents by mini buses and passenger buses have significantly gone down following the move to install RSLs.
Shool buses are already required to have speed control systems limiting them to 80 km/h. Dubai Taxi Corp started installing speed limiters on its taxi fleet from 2009.
Speed limiters either electronically control acceleration or directly curb the amount of fuel fed to the engine.
The “fitment” centres are privately-owned facilities selected by Autograde, an RSL manufacturer which also authorises fitting centres or auto workshops to ensure the gear is installed property.
After fitting the equipment, the centres set the limit with a tamper-proof device before issuing a certificate indicating the kit was installed properly. Mohammad Ashraf, managing director of Autograde LLC, which manufactures the device in the UAE and India, said they qualify workshops and train technicians too.
A report by Dubai Police shows installation of speed cameras helped reduce speeding offences by 30 per cent.
“If reduced speeding fines are anything to go by, then it is surely the way to go ahead,” said Ashraf.
Autograde started supplying speed limiters to ENOC-Tasjeel petrol stations in JAFZA and Warsan on April 1.
