It’s the an old classic that’s repeated like a broken record to children: wait for the green symbol of the walking man, look left, then look right and if the road is clear it is safe to cross the road. However, many pedestrians in Dubai have decided to ignore the rules and as a result 65,000 people have been fined for jaywalking.
The shocking new figures, released by Dubai Police, reveals the number of jaywalking fines made last year in Dubai. Considering the emirate’s population in 2.5 million, that’s a startling amount of fines.
Read: Motorists Reveal Dubai Roads Are Getting More Dangerous
As well as stating there were 65,000 incidents of jaywalking, which is when someone unlawfully crosses a road without regard for approaching traffic, police also stated that 46 people were killed in run-over accidents due to crossing in non-designated spots. In 2014 that figure was 39.
Read: Know Your Rights In The UAE
As as result of the new stats, the Dubai Police are launching a new campaign – Cross Safely – which will run for three months to educate pedestrians, particularly labourers. In case you are wondering, the fine for unlawfully crossing a road is Dhs200.
Dubai Police are trying to improve road safety in the emirate
Colonel Jamal Al Bannai, deputy director of the Traffic Department at Dubai Police, said: “Workers are the most common category for crossing the roads without taking care about cars or using proper crossing spots. This campaign will focus on them and we will visit them at their labour camps.”
During the Cross Safely campaign, police will distribute brochures in six languages to taxi drivers and in universities and labour camps, as well as through social media.
Read: Crack Down On UAE Drivers With New Bans
The campaign is part of new efforts by the police to improve safety on the roads. While the condition of roads have improved, the behaviour of drivers has not improved. As such new bans have been enforced for example combing your hair or eating while driving.
According to 7 Days, new figures by the police revealed that drivers in the age category of 18 to 30 were involved in the most road fatalities, with 13 deaths reported. Al Bannai, said: “Motorists must also be careful and allow pedestrians to cross and reduce their speed when they are approaching pedestrians crossing spots.”
In case you need help remembering the rules on how to cross the road safely, check out this old video played at schools:
Images: Getty
