New UAE traffic law: Provide first aid only if you have the necessary medical knowledge
11 responsibilities drivers in the UAE should always fulfil
Dubai: Drive safe, be mindful of traffic signs and slow down as courtesy to other road users. These driving habits that are part of basic civic sense, have also now become legally binding on motorists in the UAE as a new traffic law soon comes into effect.
Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024, which was issued on September 30, will come into effect next year and Article 5 of the new law lists out 11 obligations of car drivers in the UAE.
These include the need for drivers to always show their licence and vehicle registration or provide their personal data during a police stop, provide first aid to an injured person in case of an accident if he or she has the necessary medical knowledge and report any accident to the police or the relevant traffic control authority within three hours.
Here are the 11 obligations that every driver in the UAE is required to abide by, as per the new traffic law:
- Show the driving licence and vehicle licence data, and his or her personal data when requested by the Traffic Control Authority or its authorised representative.
- Provide first aid to the injured person in the event of accident involving him or to him, if he has the necessary medical knowledge for that, in accordance with the conditions specified in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law.
- Report the accident that occurred to him to the police or the party approved by the Traffic Control Authority, by any means approved by the Traffic Control Authority for reporting accidents, within a period not exceeding three hours, unless there is an acceptable excuse for the delay in reporting that is determined by the Traffic Control Authority.
- Slow down at the entrances and exits of educational and health institutions, or if visibility is poor, or when encountering animals or when they cross the road, or in crowded places and places where traffic signs are placed to that effect.
- Slow down if visibility is poor or if the road is blocked by personal vehicles, a physical obstacle or animals.
- Slow down at a cross walk, and stop until pedestrians who have started to cross the road have crossed.
- Not to stop the vehicle in places where stopping is prohibited. If he or she is forced to stop it on the road, he or she shall keep to the hard shoulder of the road, the right side of it, away from intersections, crossroads, slopes and bends, while taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of traffic on the road, and not to leave the vehicle running, and to ensure that it does not move during his or her absence, while using the car’s lights between sunset and sunrise and as necessary to alert others of its presence.
- Not to drive a vehicle that makes a lot of noise, in accordance with the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law, and not to use the horn within cities except to prevent danger or accidents.
- Implement the instructions of the Traffic Control Authority and other competent public authorities in the State in cases of emergencies, disasters and crises, and not endangering his or her life or the lives of others in such cases, especially during rainfall or flooding in valleys.
- Do not stop randomly on the road in a way that disrupts traffic or poses a danger to road users.
- Any other general obligations determined by the Licensing Authority.
The legislation will come into effect from March 29, 2025.