khaleejtimeonline, Thursday 3 Jun 2010
New Traffic Drive: Police To Check Vehicles, Tyres
Dubai, Amira Agarib:
The General Department of Traffic of Dubai Police, on Monday launched a
three-month land travel campaign themed ‘Your safety, your vehicle safety’.
Speaking about the drive, launched in cooperation with Emirates Explorers and
Bridgestone tyre distributor Nasser Nasser bin Abdullatif Alserkal Est.,
Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Director of General Department of Traffic
of Dubai Police, said it is aimed at spreading awareness among car drives about
safety measures including tyres.
During the drive, the technicians accompanying the traffic police patrols on
Shaikh Zayed Road and Hatta borders will examine the tyres of vehicles, to
ensure safety of drivers.
At a press conference held on Monday in the presence of Shaikh Awad bin Mejren,
founder of Emirates Explorers and Yaqoub Abdullatif Al Serkal, owner of Nasser
Nasser bin Abdullatif Alserkal Est., Al Zafin said that UAE is located far away
from the native places of Arab residents who travel in summer, who are supposed
to take precautions regarding the condition of roads and their cars. He said,
“Some travelers do not know how important it is to ensure that tyres are fit for
use, causing even fatal accidents when they are not. Tyres unfit for use on the
roads are the prime cause of vehicles overturning.”
Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, called on owners of vehicles wishing to travel
by land to comply with the specifications and standards laid down by car
manufacturers — that tyres should be changed every five years, and the brake
power should be taken into account while installing new tyres.
He added that in the event of any damage seen on the tyres, they should be
examined by expert technicians.
Maj. Gen. Al Zafin emphasized on the importance of maintaining proper air
pressure in tyres, as recommended by manufacturers as using tyres having less
air pressure than necessary, causes them damage and leads to overheating of the
vehicle.
Al Zafin said that the overloading of a vehicle too puts the lives of passengers
in danger, adding that load carried by the vehicle should be appropriate to its
size. Apart from drivers and passengers fastening their seat belts without fail,
drivers should use the lights at sunrise and sunset.
Campaign Program
Al Zafin said that during the campaigns the cars will be checked at two police
points, one near Saih Shuaib, and the other one on Hatta border. The tyres would
be examined for free by Nasser bin Abdullatif Al Serkal company. He stressed
that the traffic police will distribute brochures on safe driving in various
shopping centers.
Emirates Explorers
Shaikh Awad bin Mejren United Arab Emirates Explorers team is also participating
in the campaign. He said, “We will provide guidance and expertise on land travel
to all segments of the society during the campaign. We experience a travel of
150,000km by road around
the world.”
He said, “According to our experience, we believe that overloading vehicles and
the condition of the tyres are the two most important things to be considered by
drivers. He called for drivers to keep a first aid kit inside their vehicle and
to ensure that the air-conditioning is working properly. Also, people should not
drive if they are feeling sleepy.”
Yaqoub Al Saerkal said that Nasser bin Abdullatif Al Serkal “is a key partner in
such campaigns. We are providing integrated technical team from the company to
examine the vehicles on the roads”.
Engineer Masood Al Abaidly, from Nasser bin Abdullatif Al Serkal said that
drivers should check the car tyre pressure at least twice a month. They should
carry out rotation every 10,000km, never overload their vehicle and should
always check the tire tread near indicators, he said.
Maj. Gen. Al Zafin said that about 12,000 traffic violations were recorded in
2009, in which it was found that tyres were unfit for use, while nine people
lost their lives last year due to the explosion of tyres.
He said that traffic police patrols will prevent any vehicle with a load of 50%
of weight of the vehicle from proceeding.
amira@khaleejtimes.com