One dead, five injured in Dubai accident caused by tailgating

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Police General Command urges the people to abide by traffic laws and regulations after a dreadful traffic accident left one dead and another five injured on Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road on Thursday morning.

Major General Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, Director of the General of Traffic Department, indicated that failing to keep a safe distance is one of the significant causes of traffic accidents which always result in human or/and material losses. "Since the beginning of the current year, the Department has recorded 538 accidents due to tailgating violations, which caused the death of ten people and left 367 suffering from various injuries," he confirmed.

"This morning (Thursday, 27th of October), we deployed our patrols after receiving a report claiming that a major accident between two lorries and four light vehicles occurred on Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road after Al Rashidiya Bridge, where one driver passed away on the scene, and five others sustained minor to moderate injuries," Maj. Gen. Al Mazrouei elaborated.

"The accident happened when the traffic was obstructed by a minor accident between a lorry and several light vehicles. However, as the drivers failed to maintain a safe distance for the lorry coming from the back, it crashed into a bus upfront, kept driving and collided into another lorry loaded with cement and bricks, which caused congestion across roads," he explained.

The Director of the General of the Traffic Department pointed out that the penalty for tailgating is a Dhs400 fine and four traffic black points.