Abu Dhabi: In order to highlight the hazards of jaywalking, the Abu Dhabi Police has released a video clip showing accidents that occurred when residents were crossing roads at non-designated stretches.
The clip shared on the Police’s social media platforms shows two separate incidents that have occurred recently.
In the first incident, a man is seen crossing the road at a roundabout. He manages to safely cross the first two lanes, but a grey sedan collides into him as he is crossing the leftmost lane.
In the second incident, two men can be seen crossing a city road where the maximum speed is set at 80 kilometres per hour. Once again, the men manage to cross the first three lanes, with multiple vehicles slowing down to avoid injuring them. On the leftmost high-speed lane, a pick-up truck ends up ramming into the pedestrians.
Run-over accidents
In a statement, the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate warned that jaywalking is the main reason for run-over accidents in the emirate. Pedestrians found jaywalking will therefore receive a fine of Dh400.
It urged residents to only cross main roads at zebra crossings, or to use pedestrian tunnels and overhead bridges. Even at designated crossings, pedestrians must comply with pedestrian signals for their own safety, the Police said.
Multiple initiatives
The Police has been working to create greater awareness about the dangers of jaywalking, including aa concerted campaign that was launched last week.
Traffic and municipal authorities in Abu Dhabi have also undertaken a number of measures to reduce jaywalking instances, including the plugging of gaps in road median fencing, and the installation of AI-enabled radars to detect motorists who fail to give way to pedestrians at designated crossings.
