Dubai Police proposal on traffic lights

Dubai Police have forwarded a proposal to the Higher Traffic Committee to change some traffic lights in order to avoid confusion among motorists.

The move came after a young woman who was making a U-turn at a junction in Al Tuwar killed four members of her family due to confusion over the green light for the traffic going straight with her lane, said Colonel Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Deputy Director of the General Traffic Department. The light on the U-turn lane she was on was actually red and a four-wheel drive coming from the opposite direction slammed into her sedan.

According to Colonel Al Zafeen, the report states that traffic signals with different lanes should light at the same time. "That means that if a junction has lanes for the traffic going straight or making a U-turn, then the signals should light up simultaneously for both. Meaning it should not be red for onward traffic and green for the traffic making a U-turn," he said. "It is the driver's responsibility to make sure that the way is clear for him/her, but we at the police are doing our best to minimise any confusion."