Dubai: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai on Saturday announced that its Traffic Incidents Management Unit (TIMU) has dealt with more than 1,800 traffic incidents on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road since it was deployed last September.
The time taken to send traffic patrols to the accident site was not more than 10 minutes from the receipt of the report, said Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency. Also, vehicles were cleared in less than 15 minutes from the accident site.
The unit is run in coordination with RTA’s partners Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Traffic Prosecution, Civil Defence Directorate, and Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services. The unit is tasked to ensure rapid deployment to clear vehicles involved in minor traffic accidents or breakdown, to alleviate traffic congestion. It also streamlines traffic movement at sites of serious accidents on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, a major highway linking Dubai and other emirates.
“Thanks to the continuous coordination with the Dubai Police through the Traffic Incidents Management Unit, the unit has hit several performance indicators of the project. Sixty per cent of traffic accidents that took place were related to light vehicles, and 15 per cent involved heavy vehicles,” said Maitha.
The unit is fitted with towing vehicles and heavy equipment positioned at certain locations
“The task of the Traffic Incidents Managemenr Unit is not confined to the removal of faulty vehicles or those involved in accidents, but extends to include the development of emergency plans for implementation in case the traffic movement warrants closing part of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and diverting the traffic to other junctions.”
She added: “The scheme is aligned with the world’s best practices. A specialist consultant had conducted a traffic management study for Dubai along with a manual governing the process of dealing with traffic accidents in Dubai. The study revealed that Dubai roads experience about 250,000 vehicle breakdowns, and about 200,000 minor accidents every year. According to these inputs, the unit will reduce the clearance time of minor accidents by 35 per cent and associated congestions and costs by 25 per cent, besides curbing the rate of secondary accidents.”
Brigadier Mohammad Nasir Al Razouqi, Director of the General Department of Transport and Rescue at the Dubai Police, said: “The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that the traffic accidents units respond to the traffic accident reports within 10 minutes and the response of recovery vehicles and equipment is materialised within 15 minutes in case no third party had intervened.
“Provisionally the scheme has yielded good results. The arrival time to the incidents site reported was six minutes, and the transport vehicles arrival time was 14 minutes. Such figures have been achieved thanks to the tactical deployment of six patrols at certain spots and the deployment of a specially trained team.”
