UAE road safety warning: Pedestrians on phones, slow crossers and speeding scooters are causing near-miss accidents

Abu Dhabi: Drivers have observed reckless behaviour by pedestrians and scooter users while crossing roads in various parts of the country, warning of the danger of causing hit-and-run accidents, obstructing traffic, and collisions between vehicles due to sudden stops. They said that the most prominent of these behaviours are crossing suddenly without paying attention to traffic, being preoccupied with phones and browsing social media platforms while crossing pedestrian crossings, being very slow in crossing, not adhering to crossing from designated places, as well as electric scooter users rushing across pedestrian crossings at high speed, in a way that confuses drivers. For its part, Abu Dhabi Police stressed the need to cross only at designated pedestrian crossings, to comply with pedestrian traffic lights, and for e-scooter users to adhere to traffic regulations, instructions, and designated lanes. Distracted while crossing Driver Ahmed Hussein said: “I face frequent dangerous situations while driving because of pedestrians crossing the street with their eyes on their phone screens. Some of them even wear headphones and do not pay attention to the movement of cars. What is more dangerous is people who walk extremely slowly on the pedestrian crossing, which forces us, as drivers, to press the brakes hard and suddenly, which may cause rear-end collisions.” Sultan Ahmed agreed with him, saying: “The biggest problem currently is the sudden rush of electric scooter users, as they pass at high speed across pedestrian crossings without stopping to make sure the road is clear or to slow down, and they do not give the driver enough time to react.” He stressed that “adhering to safe crossing requires the scooter user to get off and pull it across manually, while crossing the pedestrian crossing, which does not happen most of the time.” Reckless behaviour Amira Ahmed said that despite the awareness campaigns carried out by the concerned authorities about the importance of adhering to safe crossing, there is still a category of pedestrians who are lazy about using bridges or tunnels designated for crossing, and choose to cross from places not designated, in order to save time. This reckless behaviour puts the driver in real danger, especially on highways, because the sudden appearance of a person on a road with a speed of 80 or 100km/hour means a certain disaster and a hit-and-run accident that is difficult to avoid. Readers reacted to videos recently broadcast by Abu Dhabi Police in cooperation with the Monitoring and Control Centre through its accounts, showing real accidents that pedestrians were exposed to on the roads, due to drivers not stopping when pedestrians were crossing from the crossings designated for them, and others due to some pedestrians jaywalking from places not designated for crossing. Abu Dhabi Police called on drivers and pedestrians to adhere to traffic safety rules, warning of the dangers of crossing roads from places not designated for them due to what it may cause in run-over accidents. Drivers were urged to be cautious and attentive to pedestrians and to reduce speed near crossing areas, while pedestrians were urged to use designated crossings, bridges and tunnels, and to comply with pedestrian traffic lights, in order to enhance their safety and the safety of road users. Abu Dhabi Police General Command urged members of the community to use e-scooters safely, adhere to traffic regulations and instructions, and use designated lanes. The Traffic and Security Patrols Directorate emphasised the importance of riding electric scooters only in designated lanes and areas. Penalty The Federal Traffic Law stipulates that pedestrians who do not comply with traffic signals, or cross the road from places other than those designated, are subject to a fine of Dh400 for endangering themselves and other road users.