Abu Dhabi Police reminded residents to be extra careful when behind the wheel or walking on the street, particularly when there is a low visibility warning, as the weather condition in the UAE gradually shifts to foggy this November.
The fog season could pose risks to motorists and pedestrians who can get hit by vehicles in the fog or at night due to low visibility that can drop as low as 10 meters. This is also the time when planes are delayed or re-routed.
On Instagram, Abu Dhabi Police said: “[A]dhere to the precautionary measures for safe driving during fog, including not standing and walking in dark places [or when the visibility is low], and the need to increase safety distance between vehicles to avoid accidents.”
The police also urged drivers to refrain from overtaking and tailgating other vehicles. Law enforcement are currently conducting field awareness campaigns on safe driving measures to avoid fog-related accidents.
Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi Police reduced allowed speed for seven highways in the Capital to 80 km/h, including Abu Dhabi — Al Ain Road, Al Wajan Road, Suwaihan Road, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Street, Sheikh Khalifa (Abu Dhabi-Dubai) Street and Sheikh Khalifa (Al Mafraq-Al Guwaifat) Street.
Thomas Edelmann, Founder and Director of RoadSafetyUAE, a communication platform that seeks to improve attitudes on the road, told TFT: “Every year, we suffer pile-ups that are typically chain reactions – one accident occurs, sometimes just a small fender bender, and following motorists cannot avoid colliding with obstacles in front of them, due to the lack of proper distance, attention or too high speeds.”
Robert Mallari, a Filipino expat in the UAE for 10 years now, shared his experiences during this time of the year. He said: “In foggy weather, high beams will not help you see well. In fact, they’re actually going to decrease your visibility because the light reflects into your eyes. It can only make it more difficult to see what’s in front of you. Flashing that beam light is a no-no.”
Your quick manual on the road
Edelmann shared how to do it right:
1 Visibility Down => Slow Down => Attention Up => Distance Up
The ‘three-second rule’ determines the distance you must keep from the car in front. In case of fog, mist or rain, increase this to five second. You must be able to stop within the distance of visibility. Smart drivers leave extra distance between themselves and the vehicle in front because vehicles will slow down or increase their speeds according to the visibility.
2 Don’t use your hazard lights
Hazard lights are meant to be used when the vehicle is stationary and signals that the road ahead is blocked. These should not be used by drivers when their vehicles are moving. When hazard lights are on, any intended change of direction a driver takes cannot be signalled to other drivers, and this is dangerous in a foggy situation.
3 User wipers to see well
Use your windscreen wipers properly and maintain them well, because windshields get blurred in the fog.
4 Get traffic updates
You could check #UAETraffic and #UAEWeather on Twitter before beginning your drive. TFT also posts regular weather update on its Facebook and website.
