{"id":24291,"date":"2017-04-05T11:41:02","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T07:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sellanycar.com\/cars-related\/?p=24291"},"modified":"2017-04-10T11:41:17","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T07:41:17","slug":"1400-accidents-recorded-dubai-due-heavy-rains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sellanycar.com\/guides\/1400-accidents-recorded-dubai-due-heavy-rains\/","title":{"rendered":"1,400 Accidents Recorded in Dubai Due to Heavy Rains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heavy rains hit the UAE recently and caused traffic delays and road accidents in different states of the country. Bad weather puts the road safety in the UAE at risk<\/strong> due to the country\u2019s high resident to car ratio and reckless driving behavior<\/strong> of the motorists. \u00a0The resident to car ratio in the UAE is 2:1<\/strong>, which is highest in the world and poses serious challenges to traffic authorities to maintain road safety, especially in bad weather.<\/p>\n

The traffic authorities have been putting-in their best efforts through awareness campaigns and other road safety initiatives<\/em> in order to ensure that proactive measures for conditions like bad weather are taken by the motorists. Unfortunately, these efforts bore little fruit in the recent rains as the heavy rains in the UAE caused dangerous situations on roads and 1,400 accidents were recorded in Dubai<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Also read: 9 Lifesaving Tips for Driving in the Rain<\/a><\/p>\n

Hydroplaning of Vehicles caused Maximum Accidents<\/h2>\n

From 23rd<\/sup> to 25th<\/sup> of March, there were heavy rains recorded in the UAE<\/strong>, which subsequently resulted in minor and major road accidents. As per Dubai Police, 20,653 emergency calls were received<\/strong> during the rains and a total of 1,400 accidents were recorded. Sharjah Police also recorded 10,131 emergency calls in the same period. Different areas of the UAE also experienced flooding, which caused hydroplaning of a large number of vehicles.<\/p>\n

What is Hydroplaning and How to avoid it?<\/h2>\n

You might find your vehicle in a hydroplaning condition when you are driving on wet roads. In case of heavy rains, a sheet or layer of water gets formed on the roads that stops a vehicle from touching the road surface at high speeds <\/em>and results in floating of the car on rain water. In such a scenario, a driver can completely lose control over steering, acceleration and brakes of the vehicle. Many recent accidents in the UAE have been caused by speeding vehicles which experienced hydroplaning during heavy rains.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

How to Avoid Hydroplaning<\/h3>\n

Hydroplaning can only be avoided by driving at a moderate speed<\/strong> and by using high-quality tyres <\/strong>for the vehicles. The tyre tread matters a lot when it comes to maintaining a strong grip of the vehicle with the road surface. The area of the tyre that touches the road is called the contact patch and when a high-quality tyre with thicker tread is used on wet roads, it helps by channeling the water out of the contact patch, hence ensures a safe drive during rain.<\/em> Proper maintenance and timely replacement of tyres also helps a vehicle in an event of heavy rains. Tyre tread must be regularly checked for any possible wear and tear and this can be simply checked using a Dirham coin test<\/a><\/strong>. The tyres must be changed when the tread of tyres fades significantly as tyres with thinner treads are more prone to hydroplaning.<\/p>\n

\"Check<\/a><\/p>\n

Safe Practices for Driving in the Rain<\/h2>\n

With so many accidents caused by heavy rains before the onset of summers, and with more rains expected to hit the country throughout summers, the UAE motorists need to adopt safe driving practices<\/strong> in order to maximize road safety for all commuters on the road.<\/p>\n

Following are some safe driving practices for driving in rain:<\/p>\n