Abu Dhabi: Motorists must allow pedestrians to safely cross the road at designated crossing points, Abu Dhabi Police have stressed in a fresh call for traffic safety.
This includes waiting for pedestrians to fully cross over to the other side of the road before driving over the zebra crossing, the police’s Traffic and Patrols Directorate said while releasing a recent video clip that indicates correct and incorrect driving behaviours.
Surveillance footage
The clip shows real-life surveillance of pedestrian crossings in the emirate. Cars that begin moving before a pedestrian has safely reached the other side of the crossing are denoted in red, while cars that correctly wait for pedestrians to cross over are denoted in green.
“Drivers must allow pedestrians to cross over safely, and commit to reducing speeds near stretches of the road with pedestrian crossings. Whether in industrial areas, schools areas, or residential neighbourhoods, pedestrians must be given priority for crossing at zebra crossings,” police said.
Don’t jaywalk
Pedestrians, on the other hand, must adopt safe crossing practices by avoiding jaywalking. Police urged pedestrians to use crossing bridges, zebra crossings or pedestrian tunnels, and to abide by pedestrian signals at intersections.
Monitoring system
Earlier this year, police had announced that it has activated the Hazer radar system at many non-signalised pedestrian crossings in the emirate. The system uses artificial intelligence to detect vehicles that begin driving while a pedestrian is crossing the road, and captures their license plates. The motorist then receives an alert message urging them to give priority to pedestrians at designated crossings.
The system does not yet penalise motorists. However, Article 69 of the Abu Dhabi Traffic Law does impose a Dh500 fine on motorists in Abu Dhabi who fail to give priority to pedestrians at designated crossings, along with six traffic black points.
