New speed limit signs in Abu Dhabi have revealed significant changes to how fast motorists can drive on one of the capital’s busiest roads.
The buffer zone that allowed motorists to travel 20 kilometre per hour faster than the posted speed without incurring fines was removed on Sunday. The change was made after conducting studies on causes for traffic accidents, engineering standards and traffic density, according to the government.
Abu Dhabi Municipality deployed 18 teams to change the 4,096 speed signs across the emirate. All signs had been changed by Monday morning, the municipality said.
Across most of the city, the signs now read the speed that motorists could previously drive when the 20kph buffer was included. Signs on the Corniche displaying 60kph have been replaced with 80kph signs. A 20kph increase has also been advertised on Khaleej Al Arabi Street, so the practical limit has not changed now that the buffer is gone.
But the speed limit on the road between Deerfields Mall and Sheikh Zayed Bridge, is now 140kph, which represents a 20kph increase on the previous legal limit, taking the 20kph buffer into account on the posted speed of 100kph.
The stretch had previously permitted a 140kph limit, but it was reduced to 100kph, plus the buffer, a year ago.
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Read more:
Covered signs create confusion over removal of speed buffer in Abu Dhabi
Fines said to be halved as Abu Dhabi removes 20kph speed buffer
Abu Dhabi speed limit buffer scrapped: drivers predict confusion, fines but ultimately safer roads
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Drivers have welcomed the change in the posted speed limit.
Jennifer Bell, a British Abu Dhabi resident who works for a software company, drives to Dubai each day for work.
“Having one consistent speed limit on the same stretch of road is more convenient and it saves people being caught out if they haven’t noticed the speed change,” she said.
Motorists were initially confused about how fast they could legally drive as many of the covers had not been removed on Sunday morning.
But the vast majority, if not all of the new speed limit signs, have since been uncovered.
“It’s a lot clearer this morning. On Sunday, there was a lot of confusion on the roads. They were either going slower or at the previous limits,” said a Dubai resident who commutes to Abu Dhabi each day for work.
“With the 140kph signs you knew what sort of speed you could do and people were doing 130 to 140. There weren’t as many people going 100 slowing everyone down, causing a potential danger.”
Crashes on the E11 and E10, which link Abu Dhabi to Dubai, dropped by almost a third after the speed limit was reduced from 160kph to 140kph in 2011.
Also, a study by the UAE University found it had successfully reduced the variation in speed of the traffic.
if you go
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
