3,605 accidents in 10 days as Ramadan rush starts in Dubai
Dubai Police has reported that two people were killed in three days over the weekend as the number of accidents totaled 3,600 in the first ten days of Ramadan. Despite annual warnings and advice regarding motorist behaviour and fasting during the Holy Month, police continue to see peaks in the number of accidents. Brigadier General […]
Drivers are being urged to take extra care during the Ramadan rush
Dubai Police has reported that two people were killed in three days over the weekend as the number of accidents totaled 3,600 in the first ten days of Ramadan.
Despite annual warnings and advice regarding motorist behaviour and fasting during the Holy Month, police continue to see peaks in the number of accidents.
Brigadier General Omar Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, director of operations, told Gulf News that 195 accidents occurred half an hour before iftar and “were caused by motorists speeding and driving recklessly, regularly changing lanes and not keeping a safe distance with the vehicle in front”.
The senior police official urged motorists to exercise caution before crossing an intersection and “make sure that the road is clear of pedestrians, especially in residential areas and neighbourhoods with zebra crossings.”
The so-called Ramadan Rush is a concern across the Gulf countries where temperatures hit 40-plus degrees in the summer increasing the chances of dehydration exasperating the well-being of those fasting.
Last year 14 motorists were killed in Dubai roughly a quarter of the 93 people that were killed in Oman during the same period. Twenty-one people were killed and 190 injured in 128 traffic accidents across the Sultanate in the week leading up to the Holy Month sparking concerns of a repeat of 2011, where 224 people were killed in July and August, or 20% of the year’s total accidents.
