I have observed since the start of Ramadan the traffic flowing out of Abu Dhabi towards Mussafah area was moderate and later when schools were closed it was like driving on a Friday. This happened until September 17. Once all schools reopened the same trip that took me 16 to 18 minutes now takes me 40 to 50 minutes during peak times.
Upon further reviewing what I see, hundreds of cars with parents transporting children to school, puts a lot of cars on the road and causes traffic jams on the entire Eastern Ring Road from Abu Dhabi until the Ministry exit. Furthermore, the parents transporting children in cars often do not restrain the children with seatbelts. Children are often seen hopping around in the car. This is completely unsafe and the authorities need to be policing this. Once people see others getting pulled over, offenders will fear the consequences and children will be travelling safely.
It would be better to make travel by school bus mandatory. This would not only ensure lesser traffic on the roads, but also to keep children safe, roads safe and illegal private taxi operators off the roads during peak hours. This will be good for all.
Usually parents rush their children to school because they themselves have to get to work after. The authorities concerned should look into this to check the causes for rush hour accidents and delays. I’m hoping that necessary steps will be taken to smooth out traffic activity in traveling in and out of Abu Dhabi. I believe there is always room for improvement.
- The reader is an operations manager based in Abu Dhabi.
