Abu Dhabi announces new traffic rules, delivery bikers won’t be allowed in fast lanes

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Joint Committee for Traffic Safety in Abu Dhabi, presided 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, has launched a comprehensive plan to enhance traffic safety for Abu Dhabi’s delivery motorcyclists.

According to the plan, delivery motorcyclists will only be permitted to use the right lane on roads with speed limits of 100 km/h and above.

The Joint Committee for Traffic Safety stated that the decision is in line with the framework aiming to regulate traffic movement on roads and maintaining a high level of safety for all road users by limiting dangerous driving of delivery motorcyclists.

This includes speeding - particularly on busy roads and highways– and disregarding traffic, road instructions, and signals.

In addition to driving on the wrong side of the road, sudden lane swerving, and failure to use turn-signals properly that indicate turning and lane swerving.

The comprehensive plan to improve the traffic safety of delivery motorcyclists includes a number of procedures, regulatory decisions, and traffic and safety initiatives striving towards improving the quality of work and enhancing the traffic safety levels amongst motorcyclists working within the delivery sector.

The plan also encompasses an initiative to develop partnerships with companies operating in the delivery sector by fine-tuning the level of qualification, education and providing continuous training for drivers and motorcyclist working in this sector.

The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) has developed a training programme for delivery motorcyclists and has implemented an internship programme for supervisors from various delivery companies operating in Abu Dhabi.

The supervisors, in turn, have started organising internal training programmes for their drivers.

At the end of each training programme, drivers will undergo a written test that qualifies them to practice their jobs in the delivery sector.

The ITC will oversee the testing and certification process, and will require drivers to obtain certificates of good conduct - that should be renewed annually - as a prerequisite for obtaining the professional license.

The plan also consists of establishing designated parking areas for delivery bikes, with more than 2,800 parking spots in Abu Dhabi and 200 in Al Ain.

There will also be a number of initiatives during summer, aimed at improving the quality of life of delivery bike drivers and easing the hot atmosphere by providing them with permanent rest stops in carefully selected spots, which will be launched in Abu Dhabi as the first phase.

The ITC has also provided parking permits for (6) buses designated as temporary rest stops for delivery drivers in Abu Dhabi City, Khalifa City, Mohamed Bin Zayed City, Shakhbout City and the Shahama Area.

It is worth noting that the plan is part of an integrated project that seek to reduce the annual number of traffic accidents that lead to the death and injury of workers in this vital sector by continuously improving the standards and practices adopted by delivery drivers in this field.

This aims towards ensuring compliance by drivers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and employing the finest measures that ensure sustainable traffic safety and to provide the best services to all road users.

The plan was launched following several local studies that aspire to achieve a better understanding of the causes of traffic accidents where drivers and bikers working in this sector are involved.

This is carried out in conjunction with reviews of the current evaluation and training standards for drivers applying for a professional license in Abu Dhabi, in accordance with the best international practices, leading to the launch of an integrated high-quality plan that is being applied at different stages.

It is worth highlighting that the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety in Abu Dhabi is relentless in its efforts that aim towards reducing traffic accidents, casualties, and serious injuries ensued, through proposing and implementing a number of regulatory decisions, applying the latest traffic improvement systems on roads and intersections in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as conducting a periodic review of road speed limits.

The plan also seeks to test and implement modern traffic-control methods and regulations, in addition to intensify training and traffic awareness-raising programs and campaigns through social media, spread safe traffic culture through media platforms, organize lectures to enhance communication with various segments of society, and urge road users to adhere to traffic laws and regulations in order to ensure the safety of national property, which in turn achieves road traffic safety.