Jaywalkers fined

Accidents involving pedestrians is a growing problem on Abu Dhabi streets, mainly because people do not use the pedestrian crossings or underpasses provided. People argue that there are not enough of these, and this leads to misuse of the roads by pedestrians. However, on all major streets there is ample provision for pedestrians; it's just a matter of giving oneself those extra few minutes to walk to the traffic light.

Recently the police held a 'pedestrian safety campaign' which highlighted the problem. During this campaign, additional police patrols were placed in 'black spots' to ensure pedestrians crossed the streets only at designated points. In total, 3074 jaywalkers were fined for crossing at unauthorised places.

Considering the speed of some vehicles on our streets, this was a campaign which will hopefully highlight the dangers pedestrians place themselves in when they do not cross in the correct places. The campaign was widely supported by the media, both before and during the campaign, highlighting the problem to a wider audience. Hopefully this will have had a positive effect.