ABU DHABI // Drivers were visibly more cautious on the first day of the speed limit reduction on the Abu Dhabi to Dubai motorway yesterday.
Abdullah Mohammed, a Dubai resident from Palestine, said he had noticed a change in drivers' habits since the announcement was made last week that the enforced speed limit would drop to 140 kph.
"You find fewer drivers on the left lane, and most drivers are going at speeds of about 140 kph," he said. "The new rules have definitely made a difference, [although] you still do come across the erratic driver who tailgates you and refuses to move," he said.
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Mr Mohammed also said he noticed more police cars patrolling the roads.
Last week, the Abu Dhabi traffic police announced the new enforcement speed on the E-11 motorway linking the two emirates would be reduced from 160 kph to 140 kph.
Green signs informing drivers of the new enforced speed limits were also unveiled and speed cameras have been updated and reprogrammed accordingly.
A few temporary message signs, informing drivers of weather conditions or requesting they drive slowly, have also been placed on the sides of the motorway.
"New cameras are updated through a central system. We just make the change on our system and all cameras are updated automatically," said Brig Hussein al Harethi, head of the Abu Dhabi traffic and patrols directorate.
"However, old cameras are updated manually and one by one, through a dial."
Brig al Harethi said the speed cameras go through a stringent process of calibration and testing by traffic police and the manufacturer to ensure they are accurate and effective.
Calibration, Brig al Harethi said, ensures that the speed recorded on the cameras accurately matches the speed of the vehicles on the road.
If all is clear, the manufacturer then issues a certificate to say that it is OK to proceed with the implementation of the road's new speed limit.
"At that point we start our campaigns informing drivers of the change," Brig al Harethi said.
The amount of time this takes depends on the number of cameras and the size of the road. Each speed camera has a number and is continuously monitored by the police, Brig al Harethi said.
Meanwhile, taxis will still be required to drive at a maximum speed of 120 kph on all motorways and will continue to be monitored by TransAd through GPRS.
Kailash Tiwari, a road safety expert based in Abu Dhabi, welcomed the decision to lower the speed limit.
"Better late than never," he said. "I had been strongly advocating that the enforced speed limits are to be equal or less than 140 kph on all of the expressways in the UAE. These roads are designed in such a way that cannot accommodate higher speeds."
However, Mr Tiwari said that while reducing the speed limit was a significant improvement, members of the community must work together.
He suggested the establishment of a road safety council or committee that would comprise board members from all the major stakeholders, including the Ministry of Interior, the Abu Dhabi traffic police, the Department of Transport and even the Ministry of Education.
"These representatives should be capable of making and implementing decisions with regard to road safety," he said.
In addition, black points must be issued at an earlier stage. "At the moment, offenders do not receive black points unless they exceed the speed limit by 50 kph," he said. "That means that if someone is driving on a road where the speed limit is 120, black points aren't issued until a driver reaches a speed of 170 kph. This is too late."
The enforced speed restrictions on roads leading from Al Mafraq bridge to Saih Shoeib and from Al Mafraq bridge to Sas al Nakhal have also been reduced to 140 kph.
mismail@thenational.ae
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
MORE ON IRAN'S PROXY WARS
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
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
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
