The sighting of the Suhail star and the beginning of the new academic year are two traditional indicators of the summer months drawing to a close. Their arrival this week has been accompanied by two markers of a new era for the country's motorists, in the form of Accident-Free Day last Monday and the extension of road tolls in Abu Dhabi beginning on September 1.
Drivers were encouraged to pledge commitment to Accident-Free Day on Monday, coinciding with the moment many thousands of students returned to classrooms around the country. The opt-in campaign urged motorists to respect speed limits and wear seatbelts, as well as avoid tailgating and distractions. Typically, distraction, sudden deviation and failure to maintain safe distances by tailgating are cited as leading causes of accidents in the UAE.
More than 300,000 drivers signed up to take part in the same campaign last year and those who avoided incidents on Accident-Free Day had four black points removed from their licence. These normally stay on a motorist’s record for 12 months after committing an offence. The campaign provided the same write-off this year.
It is a clever incentive, tying one of the busiest and more stressful days of the motoring calendar to good behaviour and courteous driving.
The widespread uptake offers several indicators of how we think as a nation, including that few of us are perfect drivers and many welcome the chance to remove past transgressions from our records. The specific focus of the campaign also underscores how simple changes in driver behaviour can increase safety.
Given the popularity of the campaign, it may be that further incentive schemes could be considered at other peak times of the year.
While the metric for measuring success – staying accident-free – does not necessarily absolutely correlate with good driving, few would argue against it becoming at least an annual fixture.
At the beginning of next week, new toll pricing will come into force for those motorists who use four of Abu Dhabi’s main bridges – Mussaffah, Maqta, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa – during peak hours.
Tolls have been part of the Abu Dhabi landscape for most of the past five years. Initially introduced at the beginning of 2020, fees ended up being waived for most of that year and only reinstated in January 2021, months after the first phase of pandemic-era stay-at-home orders were lifted. Dubai’s Salik system has been in place since 2007.
Road users in Abu Dhabi are currently charged Dh4 when using those bridges during a two-hour peak period in the morning and the same block of time during evening rush hour, while Sunday and public holidays are exempt. The rule change extends the evening period by two more hours, making the chargeable time a combined six hours for six days of the week. The maximum daily usage cap of Dh16 has also been removed.
The Darb system, like Salik, is technically seamless and has become part of everyday life on the roads. Both systems also have clearly defined rules and, by definition, only collect a payment when a user accesses the road network at a chargeable time.
Few of us have neutral opinions regarding the imposition of further charges, which are always bound to generate a certain amount of anxiety, whether justified or not.
Pricing structure changes to tolls are likely to focus motorists' minds on their own driving habits and road use
While there is never a right time of year to increase tariffs, tolls are an effective tool in traffic management and help support a road network in this country that is the envy of many.
Like Accident-Free Day, pricing structure changes to tolls are likely to focus motorists' minds on their own driving habits and road use.
Many journeys at peak times are unavoidable, of course, but there are obvious responses to charging periods being extended, such as carpooling to share costs or accessing public transport. Further improvements in the public transport network will encourage even more people to leave their cars at home and get on a bus, train or boat instead, with the associated benefits of unclogging roads and potentially reducing emissions.
For those who remain concerned by road toll charges, what is the alternative? Tolls are unlikely to go away but if they were, one option could be a system that leans on consumption via a small surcharge per litre charged at the petrol pump.
The UAE deregulated fuel prices 10 years ago, in August 2015, tying prices to the movements of the oil markets instead of providing generous subsidies and maintaining a flat price for long periods.
Price movements have become the norm since the era of fixed pricing came to a close, but generally have been carefully balanced. Over the past three months, for instance, there was no change to prices in June, a rise of 11 fils per litre in July and a drop of 1 fils per litre in August.
On balance, many might consider the mix of regulation, education and incentive to work in terms of rewarding good driving and discouraging excessive road use.
Only months from now will we know if this new era has brought fundamental change to our behaviour on the roads or if we have stuck to old habits.
More on animal trafficking
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The five pillars of Islam
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
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The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The%20Roundup
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The five pillars of Islam
