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29 March 2024

Truck, bus drivers most dangerous in Dubai: RTA

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By Staff

Statistics reveal that truck and bus drivers are considered the most dangerous category amongst road users, and traffic accidents involving heavy vehicles often result in considerable number of causalities, said Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic at the Road and Transport Authority (RTA).

Extra attention is therefore being given to truck and bus drivers in Dubai in order to raise their safety standards and skills.

“We are keen on offering heavy vehicle drivers more training and qualification exposure after obtaining their driving licenses,” Al Banna said.

The RTA is cooperating with concerned traffic safety specialists and mega transportation companies to increase exposure and intensify the awareness efforts.

“In the near future, we will be targeting bus and truck drivers through certain messages after compiling a comprehensive database about them in cooperation with the RTA Licensing Agency and telecommunications companies in the UAE,” Al Banna explained.

Several awareness campaigns have been held over the last couple of months with educative leaflets and posters dedicated to truck drives distributed at highways across the Emirate, specially at Jebel Ali, Fruits & Vegetables Market, Heavy Vehicles Testing & Registration Centre, Drivers Training Centre, and Ghuwaifat Border Post.

An event was recently held at the RTA premises where Tristar Company held several awareness events oriented to truck and bus drivers, where it was once again emphasised that human fault is the most common trigger for accidents to take place.

The Public Bus Drivers Training Centre at Al Awir saw an immense turnout of truck and bus drivers as well as bus inspectors from the RTA and the Dubai Police, said the RTA.

The RTA earlier announced the plan to construct 24 parking facilities for trucks along Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

Each truck stop will have a capacity to accommodate 30 trucks with the aim of providing a venue for parking trucks in a safe manner before the onset of the trucks prohibited movement timing. The first such truck stop was opened in May on Emirates Road before Al Ain exit.

The RTA has also promised the construction of integrated rest rooms equipped with security personnel and guards around the clock at three locations. These facilities will include hotel rooms, petrol stations, medical clinic, shops and maintenance services and will be located at the intersection of the Emirates Road with Trucks Road, in both directions of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road near Dubai International City, and at Jebel Ali – Lihbab Road.

The increased measures come after a deadly accident took place in May this year, when bus crashed into a truck parked on the hard shoulder of a highway and left 15 people dead.