Dubai (UAE): According to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to control the traffic movement and to ensure safety on the roads as well as to control the issuance of driving licenses, particularly the separation of the drivers testing from training procedures; Eng Maitha Mohamed Bin Adai the Chief Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads at Roads and Transports Authority (RTA ) has called the institutes and driving schools to strengthen the traffic awareness culture among the trainees and to implement the best practices methods and behaviour by all road users, especially during the driving training courses.
This was stated by Eng. Maitha when headed a meeting at RTA to with representatives of the driving training institutes in Dubai, attended by Mr. Abdul Rahman Al Shaer, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Eng. Bader Al Siri Director of the Traffic Department, Eng. Sultan Al Khafaili the Director of licensing Department and a number of directors and managers of training driving institutes in Dubai.
Eng. Maitha has informed the representatives of the institutes that RTA certain measures to insure traffic safety for all road users and to reduce accidents and which causes a number of victims every year. She emphasis on the importance of raising the efficiency of trainees and not granting a driver's license only after being eligible and deserved to get it. She asked also to include the methods of awareness culture and best behaviours to the training courses, which requires further improve of cooperation and coordination between the RTA and training institutes to insure the implementing of these directives, which reflects the vision of RTA to achieve "Safe and Smooth Driving for All."
She stressed the importance of the commitment of institutes to the timing and places of training according to the schedule set by the RTA earlier this year and based on field studies that take into consideration the population increasing and peak hours which causes the traffic congestion on the roads
According to the RTA new schedule for the light vehicles from Saturday up to Thursday, training hours are from 09:00 am until 02:00 pm and then from 03:00 pm up to 05:00 pm , and on Fridays from 07:00 am up to 11:00 am and for heavy vehicles training stars from 08:300 am until 11:00 am.
During the official holidays the training on light vehicles starts from 07:00 am up to 05:00 pm and for heavy vehicles, it is from 08:30 am up to one p.m. and from 03:00 pm until 05:00 pm.
The RTA has stressed on the ban on training for all categories in the residential areas and on main streets at all times, this includes the streets of Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid and the Airport tunnel. The CEO of Traffic and roads Agency said that the RTA has appointed one of the major international consulting firm to conduct a comprehensive study on the traffic situation in Dubai and the best ways to develop it including the system of training and testing of drivers besides a number of other actions and measures related to the traffic systems in Dubai which requires the training institutes cooperation, and coordinate with each other to provide a comprehensive report to the RTA about their views on the best ways of training which is to be taken into consideration before introducing a new laws or amends the existing ones in order to reorganize the traffic systems in the emirate .
Abdul Rahman Al Shaer, Director of the Legal Affairs Department said that the RTA considers the training institutes as strategic partners and looking forward for strengthening the cooperation with them to ensure the achievement of safety procedures for all road users and this requires reconsidering the process of training as a whole including the level and quality of training, which at presents focuses on how to drive only neglected the aspect of behaviour and traffic safety in general.
He called the representatives of the institutes to standardize the method of training among all the institutes as it would help to raise the level of efficiency of training and thus reducing the road accidents.
He expressed the willingness of RTA to consider positively any proposal or views come from the institutes and training schools in Dubai, confirming that it will not take any action with respect to the training of drivers without sufficient study and to inform the institutes in advance.
Moreover the meeting has discussed a number of important issues, including the reconsider of the trainees test especially the hill and parking, which had been cancelled several years ago. They stressed that gaining the driving license of any type of vehicles as for trucks, bus or heavy duty vehicle is not granted the right to drive vehicles of other categories but it requires separate training to obtain a license to drive a vehicle from the other category.
They emphasis on the need for an examination of each category separately from the other category.
The meeting also discussed the point of not allowing those whom their driving license has been seized due to a measure traffic violent and prevented from driving for a long time , not to be re-license and permit to drive before rehabilitation on driving once again through a training course to ensure the restoration of driving fitness.
The meeting has discussed also the importance of having enough gab between the tests in case of failing, to ensure that the trainee received enough training between the two tests.
RTA has confirmed its cooperation and support to the institutes and to take all their suggestions and proposals in consideration when it serves the public interest.
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© Press Release 2006
