The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority have minimized the speed limit of Al Ittihad Road, which is a major road to links Dubai and Sharjah. The authority will cut down the speed limit to 80 kmph from 100 kmph between  Al Garhoud Bridge and Sharjah, which is going to be functional from November 20, 2023.

The newly assigned speed limit will be applicable for the people travelling towards Al Garhoud Bridge beginning from the Sharjah-Dubai border, the Al Ittihad Road.

Traffic signs at the Al Ittihad Road will get updated and reflect the newly decided maximum limit of speed. The red line mark shows the beginning zone to deduct the speed limit. The radars on the roads will also be adjusted accordingly.

More than thousands of motorbikers take the stretch to travel between Dubai and Sharjah. Hamdan Firas is one of them, a Syrian expat, who stays in Al Nahda, Sharjah. While on the way to his office in Dubai Internet City, it is common for him to get stuck in traffic till the underpass after Abu Hail.

Hamdan said, “Once past that point, the road generally opens up for smoother traffic flow. After crossing the underpass, many vehicles tend to accelerate to speeds exceeding 100kmph. This often confuses and increases the risk of accidents. With the reduction in the speed limit, I hope that drivers will be more responsible.”

Many of the residents even said, “Some drivers drive as if they are on an F1 track”, who regularly travel through Al Ittihad Road. According to them, this situation happens at the sharp curve towards Garhoud Bridge. The reduction of speed limit hopes to limit rush driving on this major road, according to Abdul Hameed,  a Somalian expat working in a food and beverage firm. The new speed limit will equally make people take the exit point towards the airport which comes while moving forward from Abu Hai.

Based on the statement shared by The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, conveys that it is a mutual decision between Dubai Police General HQ and RTA. The panel came up with the solution after reviewing some recent reports that give a count of entrance points and exit gates, the frequency of road accidents, how proximately the crossings are getting operated, and all the recent developments and upgradation have taken place within that particular area. 

RTA drives attention to the significant step toward making an effective collaboration with the Dubai Police General HQ to take joint preventable measures, such as the alteration of radars. The speed limit modification is a key step among other important factors and various engineering standards, including the designed road speed and the actual speed observed by many motorists (85 speed percentile). Whereas the other parameters involve expansion on the road, activities of the pedestrians, and the presence of key facilities on the road.

The Roads and Transportation Authority Dubai uses a special speed management manual to check and review the speed limits on the main roads in Dubai. This guide will help the authorities to fix the limits by estimating the speed limit and flow of traffic.