Dubai Police to increase presence on major roads

Source: www.gulfnews.com

I think this is a good news for Dubai. It would definitely be better to see more police patrolling on roads. Number of bad drivers decreased, but still has to go more down. Biggest fear of people living in Dubai is not to die in a car accident.

Gulf News reports:


Police will intensify their presence on major roads during February to curb accidents, illegal crossing of roads by pedestrians and dangerous driving.

According to police statistics, of the 153 fatalities that occurred in 2010, 30 fatalities were in the month of February.

"Roads such as Dubai Bypass Road, Shaikh Zayed Road and Emirates Road had the highest number of fatalities, so intensifying our patrol presence on those roads will help decrease the numbers especially during the month of February, which is considered the most dangerous," said Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of the General Traffic Department at Dubai Police.

According to police statements, the months of February and October have the highest number of fatalities in the year.

The high number of fatalities prompted the police to intensify their presence on dangerous roads in October which contributed to a decrease in the number of fatalities. "During the month of October 2009, we witnessed 32 road accident fatalities out of 225 fatalities that took place in 2009.

"When we concentrated on monitoring the roads with the highest number of fatalities in October 2010, the number of fatalities dropped dramatically to 10 fatalities only. "We are repeating the same procedure during February and we will see if the results are better," said Maj. Gen. Al Zafein. The weather in February and October might be the main reason for the increase in fatalities in those months, he said.

Weather changes

"During these two months we face great weather changes that affect motorists' visibility and control of vehicles," he said. "Such consequences might contribute to the high number of fatal accidents and fatalities during the months of February and October," he said. Police said they would also be on the lookout for pedestrians crossing roads and major highways illegally, which resulted in 43 deaths out of the 153 last year, statistics show.
"The intensified police presence will also concentrate on stopping such pedestrians and banning them from crossing the roads in such a dangerous manner which might cause a serious threat to the pedestrians and motorists alike," said Maj. Gen Al Zafein.

• 153 people killed in road accidents in 2010
• 30 killed in February
• 43 pedestrians killed in 2010