New taxi laws to curb accidents in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, March 13, 2014
Abu Dhabi’s Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars has added a set of additional laws and regulations for taxi operators and drivers in the emirate, in an effort to reduce traffic accidents by at least half.
The ‘Traffic Safety & Security’ initiative follows results from a series of studies on traffic scenarios conducted by the centre and is part of the ‘Gulf Traffic Week’.
• Taxi operators must terminate the service of taxi drivers who cause traffic accidents and exceed their black points limit according to the traffic and licensing system.
• Other violations which result in the termination of the driving license include jumping a red light, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or similar substances, not stopping after causing an accident, in addition to reckless driving.
• Taxi operators will be held accountable for installing parking assistance/reverse sensors in all taxis; this is based on the fact that 10 per cent of taxi traffic accidents were caused while reversing.
• The maximum working hours of taxi drivers will also be electronically set as to not exceed eight hours per day as “Hired” status.
• When exceeding the speed limit, there will only be one warning/alert per day to the driver before getting fined. If a driver exceeds the speed limit by 20 km/h, the metre shuts down immediately and the driver gets a ‘call for investigation.’
The centre has also set numerous strategies towards encouraging and supporting taxi operators and drivers, including honouring drivers from the various operating companies on a monthly and yearly basis, according to a set of criteria.
It will also set a special index for traffic accidents which will now be included in the performance matrix of taxi operators in addition to launching campaigns to encourage customers to pre-book taxis so that the mileage travelled as well as potential traffic accidents by taxis are reduced. - TradeArabia News Service