Rolling out the first unified traffic awareness campaign for 2021 under the slogan "Sudden Swerving" and its risks to the lives of motorists and road users, as part of the traffic sector’s initiatives to reach the highest levels of traffic and road safety, thus minimizing the mortality rate to 3 deaths per 100,000 of the population by 2021.
The campaign embodies the Ministry of Interior’s strategy to make roads safer pursuant to the police leadership’s vision to reach the highest levels of traffic safety for all road users. It also comes as part of the traffic sector’s initiatives to raise community segments’ awareness aboutthe damage resulting from traffic accidents, especially as sudden swerving poses a great danger to road users if it is associated with high speed. It is a major cause of accidents that result in fatalities and severe injuries.
The campaign is rolled out in cooperation and coordination with the Traffic and Patrol Departments across the state, as well as several public and private entities concerned with traffic safety, thus unifying and supporting local efforts by putting precautions for the safety and security of all road users in place.
It further aims to reach the largest segments of the society through various media outlets, including newspapers, radio and TV, as well as the internet and billboards. The campaign also features radio panel discussions hosting a number of traffic officials to answer any inquiries from the public in relation to the campaign and the values and traffic culture it promotes.
The Federal Traffic Law provides for the violation of sudden swerving in Articles 29, 31, 44, 83 and 86, stating that a vehicle may be involved in a sudden swerving incident if the motorist commits any of the following: wrong overtaking, illegal overtaking, failure to use indicators when changing lanes, and failure of the light vehicle to follow the mandatory route.
According to the Traffic Law, a motorist shall pay a ticket of AED 1000 and receive four demerit points, a wrong overtaking shall get the motorist a AED 600 fine and six demerit points, an illegal overtaking shall get the motorist a AED 600 fine, and a heavy vehicle’s failure to comply with the mandatory route shall get the driver a AED 400 fine.