Motorists welcome removal of speed buffer in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: Motorists in Abu Dhabi have mostly welcomed the removal of the 20km/h speed buffer in the emirate, saying the new system will lead to less confusion on the road as all drivers will be following one set of speed limits.

Starting on Sunday, motorists throughout the emirate of Abu Dhabi will no longer have the luxury of exceeding the stated speed limits without being fined, according to the Abu Dhabi Police.

Radars on different roads have been reset as per the amended speeds on the emirate’s roads which means motorists will be penalised for driving even one kilometre over the specified speed limit. New speed limit signs have been installed, and the Abu Dhabi Police launched extensive awareness campaigns among the public to educate them about the new speed limits and removal of the speed buffer on the internal and external roads of the emirate.

The buffer that allows drivers to travel up to 20km above the designated speed limit on roads was removed and has been replaced with uniform speed limits on roads.

The Department of Transport and the Urban Planning Department of the Abu Dhabi Police had stated in July that the decision would prevent confusion and improve road safety.

The Abu Dhabi Police said that the decision was being implemented on the basis of traffic accident indicators, research and studies aimed at attaining the highest levels of traffic safety and easing traffic congestion.

Till now, a driver was able to go up to 140km/h in a 120km/h zone and to 120km/h in a 100km/h zone, but from Sunday speed cameras will catch him if he exceeds the prescribed speed limits in those zones.

The police also called on motorists to respect the new speed ruling and launched a comprehensive campaign using platforms such as the social media, displays on public transport vehicles, taxis and in newspapers, to make the public aware of changes in speed limits and the removal of the 20km/h buffer.

Colonel Jamal Al Ameri, executive director of Saaed Society and a traffic expert, said the new system was part of Abu Dhabi’s plan to improve road safety. “A lot of studies were carried out before taking the decision to implement this new system, and all the studies showed that removing the grace speed and having one speed limit would make the roads safer, and that is why the new system was put in place.

“This new system is also part of a broader strategy of improving the overall road safety standards in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and that includes building new infrastructure for roads, bridges and tunnels,” he added.

It will end confusion, motorists say

Khalid Al Hammadi, an Emirati who regularly drives on Abu Dhabi’s highways, said he was happy with the new system.

“I think it’s a good decision because it means that all drivers will stick to the same speed limit [on a road] rather than having two. Before, you had the speed signboard and then the extra 20km/h grace speed, so you had two different speeds in your mind and so it was confusing and people were driving at different speeds,” he said.

“The system in Abu Dhabi is now like in other countries, where they just have one speed limit without any grace limit. For a lot of tourists and new residents to the UAE, they often got confused by the grace speed rule, and so this is good for them as well,” he added.

Sean Barcoe, an American expat living in Abu Dhabi, also welcomed the new change.

“Everywhere in the world there are no added buffer speed limits, drivers follow the speed signboards as they are. Another good thing about the new system is that it isn’t really changing the speed limits, because you can still drive to the maximum speed of 80km/h or 140km/h.

“Having one system will lead to less traffic disparity on the roads, there will be one number that everyone is following, if the road sign says 80km/h that’s the speed people will drive up to. With the grace speed system, there were drivers on two different speeds, that will no longer be the case now and so it makes things easier on the roads,” he said.

Cecilia Chung, a Korean-American resident, said she found the grace speed system to be very confusing when she first moved to Abu Dhabi, and welcomed the new change.

“When I first came to Abu Dhabi I was confused by the grace speed allowance, it didn’t make much sense to me and so I think it’s great that the system is being changed. The new speed signboards will now be the official real speed limit, which wasn’t the case before because you had the speed limit and then the grace speed.

“As long as the new system keeps the maximum speeds, then I think it’s fine, and that is what it’s doing and so I have no problem with it. I think this is a very good decision for Abu Dhabi’s roads and more importantly for its drivers,” she added.

‘No big change’

While most drivers were positive about the new rule, Glenn Navarro, a Filipino resident, said he didn’t believe there would be a big change.

“I don’t really see what’s different, the speed buffers have been removed but the speed limits are still the same so nothing has really changed. Before you had the grace speed allowing you to drive up to 140km/h on a 120km/h road, but now you can just drive up to 140km/h excluding the grace speed so it’s really the same thing.

“I am sure the authorities have their reasons for making the changes and for improving road safety, but from my perspective I don’t really understand what the big difference is going to be, because the maximum speeds haven’t been reduced,” he added.

Navarro said he was also concerned that not all drivers were aware of the changes.

Russel Underwood, also from the US, said he had mixed feelings about the new system.

“I just moved here three months ago and was initially told about the 20km/h grace speed and I actually got used to that system. I am a little concerned now because there isn’t that buffer speed anymore, I could be driving within the speed limit on an 80km/h road but there are times when you might just stray a little bit by mistake and speed to 81km/h, and because there are no speed buffers anymore you’re going to automatically get a ticket.

“I do like that they are implementing the maximum speed limits rather than reducing them, so that is a good thing. I think it will just be a case of adjusting to the new rule after having become accustomed with the grace speed limit system,” he added.