Three killed in road accidents as rain disrupts traffic

Three people have died and another eight sustained serious injuries in traffic accidents since Friday following heavy rain in Abu Dhabi.

Bad weather conditions also led to 676 traffic accidents without injuries across the emirate.

In addition, Abu Dhabi Police's operations department received on December 11 and 12 a total of 1,237 reports on simple accidents at the level of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Western Region because of the rain.

Colonel Hamad Adeel Al Shamsi, Director of Abu Dhabi Police's Traffic and Patrols Department, said most accidents occurred because of excessive speed without taking weather conditions into consideration. He said this raised the risk of drivers losing control on wet roads. Motorists who did not leave a safe distance between vehicles were also a cause of some accidents.

No further information was available about the deaths. Earlier in the week, it was also reported that two passengers were killed and 17 injured when a bus carrying them hit a stalled truck on Emirates Road in the direction of Sharjah.

Al Shamsi called on bus drivers to drive slowly in the rains. He requested that motorists concentrate and drive carefully, especially since the rains look set to continue over the next few days.

Motorists have been requested to inform the Abu Dhabi Police Central Operations Room immediately an accident occurs and avoid disrupting traffic. Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Al Mazroui, from Central Operations Room Abu Dhabi, said they received 905 reports, including 50 reports of vehicles turning over.

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