Abu Dhabi announces new traffic rules, Delivery bikers won't be permitted in fast lanes
A comprehensive plan to improve traffic safety for Abu Dhabi's delivery motorbike riders has been launched by the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety in Abu Dhabi, which is chaired by the Department of Municipalities and Transport and includes the Integrated Transport Centre, the General Command of the Abu Dhabi Police and the Department of Health.
The plan stipulates that delivery motorbike riders will only be allowed to use the right lane on roads with a 100 km/h speed restriction or above.
According to the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety, the decision is consistent with the framework intended to control traffic flow on highways and maintain a high level of safety for all road users by reducing the number of delivery motorbike riders who operate dangerously.
This involves driving too fast—especially on congested roads and highways—and disobeying traffic laws, signs, and other traffic-related cues.
Along with lane swerving and improper use of turn signals that indicate turning and lane swerving, other dangerous driving behaviours include driving on the wrong side of the road.
A number of procedures, regulatory decisions, and traffic and safety initiatives are part of the comprehensive plan to increase the traffic safety of delivery motorcyclists. These efforts are aimed at raising the level of work quality and traffic safety among motorcyclists employed in the delivery industry.
The strategy includes a project to improve the level of training, education, and certification for drivers and motorcycle operators who operate in the delivery industry as well as a continual training programme.
The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) has launched an internship plan for supervisors from various delivery companies operating in Abu Dhabi as well as a training curriculum for delivery motorcyclists.
In response, the supervisors have begun planning internal training sessions for their drivers.
Drivers will take a written exam at the conclusion of each training course to determine whether they are qualified to work in the delivery industry.
Drivers must earn certificates of good conduct, which must be updated annually, before they can apply for a professional licence. The ITC will oversee the examination and certification process.
Along with creating specialised parking areas for delivery bikes, the plan calls for 200 parking spaces in Al Ain and over 2,800 in Abu Dhabi.
There will also be a number of efforts during the summer that are designed to enhance the lives of delivery bike drivers and lessen the oppressive heat by offering them permanent rest areas in strategically placed locations. The first phase of these activities will be introduced in Abu Dhabi.
Additionally, the ITC has issued parking licences for six buses that will serve as temporary rest areas for delivery drivers in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa, Mohamed Bin Zayed, Shakhbout, and the Shahama Region.
It is important to note that the strategy is a component of a larger integrated effort that aims to reduce the number of traffic incidents that result in worker fatalities and injuries every year by consistently raising the standards and behaviours that delivery drivers in this industry adopt.
By using the best techniques to ensure long-term traffic safety and to offer the greatest services to all road users, this seeks to assure compliance by drivers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The plan was implemented in response to a number of regional studies that aim to gain a deeper knowledge of the factors that contribute to accidents involving drivers and bikers who are employed in this field.
This is done in conjunction with reviews of the current evaluation and training requirements for drivers applying for professional licences in Abu Dhabi, in accordance with the best international practises, and it results in the launch of an integrated, high-quality plan that is being used at various stages.
It is important to note that the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety in Abu Dhabi is steadfast in its efforts to reduce traffic accidents, casualties, and serious injuries that resulted. To this end, the committee has proposed and put into effect a number of regulatory decisions, installed the most up-to-date traffic improvement systems on roads and intersections in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and conducted periodic reviews of the speed limits on the road.
The plan also aims to test and implement contemporary traffic-control methods and regulations, intensify training and traffic awareness-raising campaigns through social media, spread a culture of safe driving through media outlets, host lectures to improve communication with various facets of society, and exhort road users to obey traffic laws and regulations in order to ensure the safety of public property, which in turn achieves road traffic safety.
