UAE experiment: 3-minute roadblock causes 5km jam

A traffic accident that results in the obstruction of one lane for not more than three minutes can lead to a traffic jam for a distance of up to 5 kilometres.

This is the essence of a traffic accident experiment conducted by the Public Relations Department in Sharjah, to understand the impact of minor traffic accidents on traffic flow in the emirate.

“A mistake on the part of motorists causes accidents, but when they do not move their car from the road even if it’s a minor collision, this leads to confusion among other drivers on the road,” Sharjah Police said in a statement.

Col Sultan Al Khayyal, director of Sharjah Police’s Media and Public Relations department, said a minor accident does not exceed the duration of 3 minutes, but it leads to a traffic jam of up to 5 kilometres.

He called on drivers involved in minor accidents to move their vehicles away from the main road and onto the hard shoulder or service lanes to facilitate the flow of traffic while waiting for police patrols to arrive.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Bin Darwish, acting director of Traffic and Patrol Department, Sharjah Police, confirmed human errors, as opposed to technical or mechanical failures, remain the primary cause of traffic accidents.

He urged drivers to refrain from driving in case they are suffering from fatigue and called for leaving a safe distance between their cars and those in front of them.

The Traffic Law imposes a fine of Dh200 in case a driver is found to be causing obstruction of traffic.

He said minor accidents occur due to many reasons, including the driver’s lack of focus and attention, especially at turns and crossings.

He called for drivers to cooperate with traffic police by asking them to report minor traffic accidents at the nearest police station instead of waiting on the road for police patrols to arrive.

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