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Minimum speed on highways may be increased to 80kmph Amira Agarib / 19 March 2014 It’s part of recommendations made by the Traffic Federal Council for amendments to be made to the Traffic Law. The minimum speed on highways could be increased to 80km per hour from 60km to reduce the number of accidents, according to Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police for Operations. He said these changes were part of recommendations made by the Traffic Federal Council for amendments to be made to the Traffic Law. He said changes were required and awaited and there was a possibility that new texts would be added commensurate with the evolution of traffic and security needs. He explained that the council issued a package of recommendations to be submitted to the Supreme Committee of the Policies and Strategies which is headed by Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to take the final decision. “The Minister of Interior has issued clear directives for unifying and standardising traffic procedures in all emirates to avoid differences in regulations or the applications,” said Al Zafin. The council has also recommended to stop issuing licence for vans or light buses used for transportation purposes. Companies will be provided a one-year grace period to address the matter. There is a possibility of allowing vans to transport goods only. Non-availability of security and safety requirements in vans caused many fatal accidents, he said. He explained that there are vehicles that can carry nine people, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser or other similar vehicles that have sufficient safety and security measures instead of the vans that resemble sardine cans and often result in deaths or injuries. The council’s recommendations in its meeting held on Thursday also included unification of traffic files for all drivers in the UAE to link it with Emirates Identity Card that will take the same number as the card so as to make it easier for dealers in any emirate. Al Zafin pointed out that there was no justification for existence of a separate file for each person as long as there is a uniform traffic system applied in the state. He said the most important recommendations included reconsidering the minimum speed for roads, which is normally fixed at 60 kmph on the highways whereas people drove cars at a speed of 140 kmph. “This big difference in speed usually leads to accidents.” The council proposed certain routes for minimum speed and also suggested writing the speed on the road surface until drivers were aware of the speed limit on that track. He stated that it is also necessary to reconsider the rate of minimum speed because there is a difference between heavy vehicles and light vehicles. “Speed can be increased to 80 kilometres per hour on the highways to be on a par with the maximum speed of the trucks to avoid problems caused by differences in speed,” he said. He added that members of the Board of Directors of the traffic departments in UAE agreed to these recommendations which will be coordinated with the relevant authorities in each emirate before implementation. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading →