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29 March 2024

Dubai Tram crash: How did it happen?

On Wednesday, the first accident since the official launch of Dubai Tram happened -- a collision of the tram and a car at a junction in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).

Published
By Majorie van Liejen

Dubai Tram intersects regular traffic at several points on its route, and at every junction the rules and circumstances can be different.

However, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has pointed out that obstruction of Dubai Tram by regular traffic in any case is an offence, which will be penalised with severe fines.

On Wednesday, the first accident since the official launch of Dubai Tram happened  -- a collision of the tram and a car at a junction in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).

The accident took place at a junction between  Station 1 and Station 2, where three lanes of traffic are halted before the traffic light, said Mohammed Mudharreb,  Director of Rail Operations at the RTA.

Mudharreb  explained what went wrong and how this could have been avoided.

"Two of the lanes are heading straight, while the left lane is for traffic going left. There are two different traffic lights: one for traffic going straight and one for traffic going left.

"What is important to realise here is that these traffic lights function separately from each other. While the traffic light may have given a green light to traffic heading straight, the traffic going left might be stopped by a red light.

"Yesterday, the motorist on the left lane mistook the green light for the traffic going straight for a green light to go left, while his traffic light was red.

"He took off at high speed, and once he had taken the turn he realised that there was traffic coming his way. He promptly stopped his car while he was on the track of the tram at that moment.

"A tram approached, the driver used his emergency break to minimise the damage and there was a minor crash," he said.

In the case of this accident, the driver could not see the tram approaching, because it was in his blind spot, added Mudharreb.

However, the driver should have paid attention to the traffic light, which was meant for him, he pointed out.

"There are three or four similar junctions with Dubai Tram in the same area, where traffic lights signal directions for traffic to different destinations.

"It is important that the motorist pays strict attention in these junctions areas and do not take off fast, in order to avoid such accidents."

As the accidents involved two road vehicles, Dubai Police had to handle the case, and impose a fine, Mudharreb added.

"As per the directions of Dubai Police the site of the accident must be cleared as fast as possible in order to minimise disruptions in traffic flow.

"This is what happened. The site of the accident was cleared in half an hour and traffic was normalised," he added.