Dubai: Police have warned motorcycle riders against zipping between cars and overtaking through the hard shoulder after 17 people died in 122 motorbike accidents in Dubai last year.
The latest figures released by Dubai Police showed that many bikers do not follow traffic instructions and cause accidents.
The number of motorcycle riders who died in accidents jumped to 17 in 2016 as compared to 10 in 2015.
Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Dubai Traffic Police, said all victims were young people aged between 16 and 25 years.
“Most of the motorbike accidents were deadly as there is no enough safety in the motorbikes. There is no seat belt and some bikers don’t wear the safety helmet. Most riders sustained injuries in the head, pelvis and chest,” Brigadier Al Mazroui said.
The police said a total of 137 people suffered injuries due to motorbike accidents in Dubai. “Among the victims was a young man involved in a quad-bike accident.” he said.
Brigadier Al Mazroui said: “Many motorists involved in accidents were driving at over 100 kmph. Riding bikes at such high speed can be fatal.”
Dubai Police said the most common violations by motorbike riders include overtaking incorrectly, driving on the hard shoulder, parking on the hard shoulder for no reason and not abiding by lane discipline.
Some motorists said motorbike riders don’t follow traffic instructions and always change lanes and cut in front of them.
Nasir Abdullah, a 35-year-old Jordanian engineer, said delivery motorbikes make him lose his temper on the road. “They always cut in front of me and sometimes they slow down for no reason. They don’t use indicators and drive like maniacs,” Abdullah said.
However, some bikers said car drivers annoy them on roads and behave as if motorcyclists do not exist.
Sharif Qader, a 23-year-old Indian food delivery biker, told Gulf News that his job was the worst as he was fined twice in two weeks recently for overtaking. “I didn’t know that overtaking is not allowed for bikers until police fined me. I was fined twice, because many motorists forced us to overtake them as they don’t give space and behave as if we don’t exist on the road,” Qader said.
Saeed Ayoub, a 40-year-old Egyptian deliveryman for a restaurant in Rafaa area, said he used to speed and overtake between cars until two years back when his friend suffered serious injuries in an accident. “I told myself that my life is more important than delivering the food. I am being more careful and take the safety measures while driving. Speeding will give two to five minutes’ advance but, for that, I can lose my life,” Ayoub said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Edelmann, founder of the Road Safety UAE website, said that fast food delivery bikers must be educated by their managers about safety aspects while driving on the roads. “Motorcyclists often take shortcut through yellow-marked areas, overtake between two cars on highways, make U-turns between barriers, and sneak between waiting vehicles at traffic lights. They ride like crazy,” Edelmann told Gulf News.
He urged the restaurant managers to educate their drivers about road safety and not to speed. “They have to protect themselves and wear helmet, gloves and proper shoes. They must know that they can be killed in any accident as they are riding a motorbike not driving a car,” Edelmann added.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
