New school year means misery for motorists

Sharjah: The first day of school on Sunday resulted in heavy traffic jams as parents and buses made their way to drop off pupils for the beginning of the term.

Starting from 6am, motorists found themselves wedged between school buses as public and many private schools started their first day of the school year.

Children living in Sharjah were seen walking through traffic jams near the Mughaidir suburb, a residential area where several schools are located.

"The roads were congested with school buses and parents who were taking their children to school, and it was difficult to stay calm while driving as the roads were jam-packed," said one commuter, on his way to work from Sharjah to Dubai at 7am.

The Sharjah Ring Road was crammed at National Paints where parents and regular commuters took up to 40 minutes to drive through the overpass in order to enter Dubai.

"I completely forgot that schools had already started and ended up going to work an hour late," said another driver.

"I will have to start leaving home at 5.30am if I want to make it to Deira on time."

New patrols

In order to facilitate the heavy traffic flow, Sharjah Traffic Police said they have increased the number of patrols on the streets around the city, and were spotted pulling over those driving heavy trucks.

They increased the number of patrol teams from 20 to 100 to monitor traffic on the streets for the new academic year, as well as controlling traffic flow through the ongoing road construction works. Trucks are currently banned from the inner city roads from 6.30 to 8.30am, 1 to 3pm and from 5.30 to 8pm.

Drivers of heavy vehicles weighing 2.5 tonnes or more have been ordered to stay off Sharjah roads during peak hours or face stiff penalties. Al Dhaid Road also faced heavy congestion as motorists were stuck in traffic for half an hour from Al Qasimi Hospital to Sharjah University City.

The operations room at Dubai Police reported that traffic was congested throughout the morning at Al Ittihad Road backing up from Sharjah, Bypass Road, on Shaikh Zayed Road from the Trade Centre to Defence Roundabout, and along Al Maktoum Bridge from Deira to Bur Dubai.