new speed limits
 

so a couple of weeks ago i heard the speed limit on SZR & Emirates Rd will be reduced from 120 to 110 starting from 1st Oct.
Today on the radio i heard its from 15th Oct.
Anyone know for sure?

Re: new speed limits
 

Stick to 120 and you won't have a problem whichever it is.

Re: new speed limits
 

It's 311 and 611, whatever they are called these days. Limit is now 110, with cameras flashing when you go above 130. SZR not affected as far as I know.

Re: new speed limits
 

Imagine wasting your hard earned money here on speeding fines! Speed limits are more than enough without the buffer. I know a couple of people who view speeding fines as another monthly expense rather than something that can be completely avoided with a modicum of care.

Re: new speed limits
 

err that's a snail's pace:p

Re: new speed limits
 

from what date yaar?

Re: new speed limits
 

i must admit i have, in the past, racked up some serious speeding fines, but Alhumdulillaah for the past year or so it's been very minimal

Re: new speed limits
 

14th or 15th October R. Not sure which one.

Re: new speed limits
 

I'm going to go up and down the 311 at 130 in the outside lane for the first few days of the changeover. When the inevitable happens, pull over, watch them get flashed.

:thumbsup:

Re: new speed limits
 

Spend your money on fines then my love - I've had one in the last 5 years.

Re: new speed limits
 

I've had loads, although they come in waves. Loads over a few months and then none for several months. I also do a lot of driving and get paid by the Km so its not the end of the world. IMO 120 kmph is dangerous when everyone else is doing 140 odd.

The big problem at the mo is the Kalba Rd. Its signposted at 120 kmph with short sections down to 60 and 80 kmph due to road works. I've been flashed more than once in the 120 bit doing <120. Went through there last week at 110 kmph and still got a ticket. They've really ****ed it up.

Re: new speed limits
 

:amen:

Doing 140 in the outside lane is fine when passing traffic but impossible to move across to let anyone going faster by or generally to 'keep right' because the second lane is packed with those ambling along at 100-110-120.

To move out of someone's way you have to find a gap large enough, slide over, brake and then probably end up undertaking.

The danger on the roads is the second fastest lane.


NB: I know they aren't 'fastest' lanes but it helps to describe.

Re: new speed limits
 

Worth pointing out that a head on collision at 50mph (80kph) is near unsurvivable in any modern car. Think about that when you're speeding past a lighting column, traffic sign or palm tree at 120kph. Even side swiping a properly designed and installed median barrier at that sort of speed is going to cause significant harm to the car occupants.

Here are some stats from the UK.

Re: new speed limits
 

So should we have a nationwide limit of 60 kph?


I mean the slower you drive, the safer it is, right?

Re: new speed limits
 

Both rhetorical questions, yes?

250 fatalities and 850 serious injuries per year is the current run rate on Qatar's road network :(

Re: new speed limits
 

Given that I drive about 30km each way 6 days a week along Salwa Road those numbers seem stunningly low.

Re: new speed limits
 

Would obviously help.

I think what would help more would be far stricter licensing and testing. Not just accepting another country's test as good enough but enforcing their own, harder tests. Suitable to conditions perhaps, with education around unusual conditions like fog / rain etc.

Dunno, just feel like a lot of the road safety things in this region are not quite as effective as other measures and not quite a full swing for the fences.

Re: new speed limits
 

One thing I've definitely noticed in Dubai is the disparity in driving skill amongst drivers. I've seen some downright shocking driving on the roads here compared to UK...

Re: new speed limits
 

That's because you're not in the UK. Don't let the veneer trick you otherwise.

Re: new speed limits
 

Loads of data to show that seat belts increased the number of accidents but obviously reduced injuries in less serious accidents. Overall deaths not hugely changed in more serious accidents (which also increased as people drive faster when comforted by a belt).

Thus, I conclude that the best way to reduce road accidents is to remove seat belts and put a huge sharp spike on the steering wheel pointing at the driver's chest. People would soon learn to drive sensibly and there would be less accidents and therefore accident related deaths.

Re: new speed limits
 

You should read Terry Pratchett. You remind me of Vetinari.

Re: new speed limits
 

Its been super bad recently (since the schools came back and traffic dramatically increased.... frustration from everyone else). Nearly been taken out several times. The quality when you get in and about Dubai is significantly better than out and about in the other Emirates.

Yesterday coming home from site along the E89 (Dhaid Road) at about 5pm and i'm doing about 125 odd, the second lane is jammed with crawling trucks and some bellend decided to pull out from behind the queue..... mega application of anchors and much swearing. Knob.

Re: new speed limits
 

Increasing or decreasing the speed limit is not going to affect the standard of driving here one iota, it is atrocious and always will be, and now you can have 100% tinting everyone will be hiding behind their collective blackout curtains!

Re: new speed limits
 

What to do though?

Lower yourself to the standards?
Get angry every 30secs you're driving?
Try to let it all go? (Anyone who can do this permanently is either oblivious or lying)

I regularly scream in my car at ****wits.

The main thing I get close to really losing my shit over is people texting / on a phonecall. I generally beep the horn and call them a **** and get a passenger to take a photo to shit them up.

Re: new speed limits
 

Nah, I try to keep up the British standards! Looks like even indicating when changing lanes puts you in the top 10% of drivers...

I rarely get angry when driving because it almost feels like 'they win' if I lose my **** and they don't.

Unfortunately it's one of those things I've accepted since moving here although I think they should put in place way more stringent licensing to hopefully weed out the worst offenders.

Re: new speed limits
 

Weed out the worst offenders and the roads would be empty!!!