ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, June 14th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate at the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters (GHQ) will distribute 103,000 Iftar meals to motorists travelling on the internal and external road users in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region (Al Gharbia). Iftar meals will also be distributed to individuals arriving and departing through the Al Ain and Al Ghuwaifat border ports. As a part of the “Ramadan Safety 4” initiative organized by the Al Ihsan Charity Association to help reduce the traffic accidents during the holy month, the meals will be distributed before the Maghrib call to prayer. This humanitarian gesture aims to revive the values of solidarity amongst community members during the holy month of Ramadan, which is characterized by its atmosphere of worship and faith, enlightenment, and noble values.

Brigadier Khalifa Mohammed Al Khaili, Head of the Traffic and Road Safety Engineering in the Directorate, pointed out that the Directorate and the Al Ihsan Charity Association jointly agreed to distribute 103,000 Iftar meals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi throughout the holy month as follows: 51,000 meals in the capital, Abu Dhabi; 30,000 meals in Al Ain; and 22,500 meals in the Western Region.  

He urged motorists, especially those who are driving close to the time of sunset, to drive carefully and to not speed in order to arrive to their destination before the time of Iftar. He additionally called upon all motorists to fasten their seatbelts, to avoid using their cellphones while driving, to pay attention to traffic signals, to not run red lights, to use the turning indicators of the vehicle, and to be mindful before turning to the left or to the right.

“Should those who are fasting begin to feel faint or tired while driving, they should immediately pull their vehicle over to the right shoulder of the road,” he said. “This is especially necessary during the month of Ramadan and for those with high blood pressure or diabetes, where the attention levels of drivers tend to decrease due to the physical changes that occur in the body as a result of fasting.”

According to Al Khaili, the Directorate has decided to ban the entry of trucks weighing more than 2.5 tons from entering the city of Abu Dhabi during the peak hours of Ramadan. “Trucks of this size are banned from entering between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 am, and between 1:30 and 3:30 pm in order to provide a smooth flow of traffic,” he said.  “The working hours of the customer service centers in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region have been revised to facilitate the work for customers. During the holy month, the centers will be working from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm daily, Sunday through Thursday.”

He also noted the launch of a comprehensive campaign scheduled to run from the first day of Ramadan through the Eid Al-Fitr holiday. The campaign, held in cooperation with the Security Media Department at the General Secretariat of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, aims to intensify traffic awareness and traffic monitoring. The campaign will take place on internal and external roads, in malls, and other various locations with heavy traffic in a bid to reduce all causes of traffic accidents during the holy month.

He mentioned that the Directorate has prepared awareness booklets for the holy month, which will be distributed to motorists through field awareness campaigns. With participation from the “Tathqeef” awareness patrols, the educational campaign will be held in high-traffic areas, such as mosques and markets following the Isha prayer time. The personnel of Directorate will provide advice to motorists during this period of time and distribute awareness materials that will include the fasting timeline for Ramadan.

He urged motorists to benefit from the sanctity of the holy month by ensuring the rights of others who share the road. He called upon the public to not park their vehicles haphazardly during the Taraweeh prayers and to avoid blocking entrances or other vehicles by parking directly behind them. He also urged community members to follow the instructions of traffic policemen, especially in front of malls and crowded commercial areas.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14896/en