Get ready to slow down in the name of road safety…

The RTA and General HQ of Dubai Police have announced that the speed limits of two major Dubai highways will be reduced next month.

Effective Sunday 15 October, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road (E311) and Emirates Road (E611) will see a drop from the top speed a vehicle can travel on them from 120 kilometres per hour to 110 kilometres per hour.

This means that the radars will now go off at 131 kilometres per hour (whereas previously you were only fined when driving at 141 kilometres per hour).

The reduction will be applicable across all sectors of both roads in Dubai and will likely affect those commuting between Dubai and Abu Dhabi or Sharjah and beyond. 

The move comes as part of a joint effort between both government departments to better ensure the safety of motorist and cut down on the number of traffic accidents on both motorways.

“Lowering the speed limits on the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Emirates Roads is a result of elaborate traffic safety studies and analyses of traffic accident data along with their causes over the past years.” said Maitha bin Adai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA.

Each road sees an enormous amount of traffic on a daily basis, with the current capacity topping off at around 12,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road runs all the way from the border of Ras Al Khaimah to Abu Dhabi with 12 per cent of the vehicles travelling along it in the direction of Sharjah being trucks, while Emirates Road (which goes from the Abu Dhabi border to Umm Al Quwain) sees an overall smaller amount of traffic but has a higher percentage of heavy vehicle traffic at 14 per cent.

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Image: Getty