Weather warning for drivers

The traffic police have warned motorists to be vigilant when driving through fog and shifting sands when visibility is low. Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said that strong winds made it harder for people to control their vehicles. "Drivers should watch out for sand dunes on the sides of roads resulting from strong winds. Sand shifting takes place and sandy patches form on the sides of roads, especially highways. Motorists should be wary of and avoid driving into the sandy patches, as it can cause a car to swerve if it hits the sand at high speed," Lieutenant Badr Ahmad Al Zafein from the Weather Forecast Section said. He also advised people to drive slowly to avoid the risk of hitting the sand because in most cases this causes the driver to lose control and the car will overturn, he said. Meanwhile, the traffic department reported that speeding topped the list of violations committed by road users in February with 145,650 tickets issued. Out of these violations, 1,923 exceeded the speed limit by 11-20km/h, 110,838 by 21-30km/h, 23,560 by 31-40km/h, 5,819 by 41-50km/h, 2,136 by 51-60km/h and 1,383 exceeded the speed limit by over 60km/h. Deadly crashes Major General Al Zafein urged drivers to abide by the speed limit, as speeding is a major cause of deadly crashes. Some 8,256 tickets were issued for blocking traffic, out of which 6,813 were given in absentia, and a further 7,765 for prohibited parking including 7,243 in absentia. Lane discipline violations by light vehicles resulted in 5,217 fines including 638 in absentia and using a hand-held mobile phone while driving earned 3,895 drivers tickets, including 2,853 who were fined in absentia, Major General Al Zafein said. Drivers who failed to fasten their seat belts were slapped with 5,115 fines including 3,387 in absentia, while those who jumped red lights got 2,093 out of which 2,004 were fined in absentia. Car owners who failed to register their cars were slapped with 2,737 fines, and those who were driving without valid insurance got 1,103 fines, while driving cars with bad tyres resulted in 1,948 fines. 2,425 pedestrians fined for jaywalking Pedestrians had their share of violations in February, and since half the people who died on Dubai roads this year were pedestrians, 2,425 were fined for jaywalking or crossing the road at undesignated pedestrian crossings. Below is a typical example of jaywalking.