In a bid to curtail random parking of vehicles during Al Tarweeh prayers and to prevent traffic congestion, the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate heightened monitoring on markets, shopping centers and near mosques.
Colonel Hamad Mubarak Al Ameri, director of the Capital’s Traffic Department appealed to motorists to take advantage from the spiritual meanings of the holy month of Ramadan and to ensure traffic safety by observing traffic rules, reducing speed, fastening seatbelt, not using handheld mobile while driving and leaving enough distance behind vehicles.
He urged them to observe the rights of other people who share them the road, and avoid blocking the exits and entrances of the parking areas and refrain from parking behind other vehicles (double parking).
The initiative is part of the awareness campaign being organized by the Security Media Department at the Secretariat- General of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minster and Ministry of Interior in coordination with the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols.
For his part, His Eminence Sheikh Hisham Yahya, a preacher at the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf insisted on praying people not to park their vehicles in a random manner during Taraweeh prayers, thus allowing ambulance, emergency and civil defence vehicles to enter freely in emergency.
He emphasized that traffic rules are totally consistent with the Shari’ah purposes to preserving life and property and ensuring general safety.
Sheikh Hisham stated that Jurists and Scholars have unanimously agreed that traffic rules must be observed and traffic personnel must be obeyed, and this is part of the religious duties which entail legal responsibly if they are violated.
It is very regrettable and surprising that traffic accidents raise during Ramadan, especially prior Iftar time, as statistics have shown, added Sheikh Hisham.
“Fasting people rush home to catch Iftar, and to do so some of them jump red traffic light, and instead of becoming late for minutes, they might be late for hours or days because of an accident, and could have their rewards of fasting completely gone away”.