UAE: Civil, criminal liability now on jaywalkers for accidents on 80 kmph roads
The latest UAE traffic law has banned pedestrians from crossing over roads which have a speed limit of 80kmph and above. It also absolves them from any civil or criminal liabilities that can emanate from non-compliance with this regulation, which implies that jaywalkers ought to be prohibited from suing drivers for bumping into their vehicles as such instances are self-inflicted injuries, according to legal specialists.
According to Fatima Al Marzouqi who is an expert in legal matters, there are two categories of crimes, civil, and criminal. “Civil worthiness has to do with sacrifice claim settlements, whereas criminal worthiness is concerned with penalties for unlawful acts. They are the ones in violation of the designated areas and break the traffic rules. In this case, it could be said that the pedestrians were injured because of their illegal action and they can't expect to receive compensation from the vehicle driver but they don't escape from some liability as well.”
"Make sure to routinely consult a legal practitioner. Civil liability according to Hassan Elhais who is a Legal Consultant at Awatif Mohamed Shoqi Advocates and Legal Consultancy, exposure/ damage arising out of accidents. They imply that even though the pedestrian was the one compensated, the driver who has suffered some damages may also be compensated.
People who cross jayholding a road with an allowed speed of force limit of 80kmph, or greater, shall be jailed for up to three months taking into account also a fine, not less than Dh10,000. traffic law posters There was also a warning of substantial penalties being introduced for jaywalking on any road in the proposal which was made last week. For now, it is a single offense subject to fine worth Dh400. The proposed law doesn’t allow gorge hitchhikers any escape, however, penalties between Dh 5,000 and Dh 10,000 with additional imprisonment are included making it smarter to avoid getting into trouble in the first place, where that gets triggered through a traffic accident during a cross-attempt.
According to Abdulrahman Al Nabhan legal counsel: “If a pedestrian crosses illegally and is hit by a vehicle, then he is not entitled to damages”.
It is not sufficient to say that the driver is liable for the settlement from the traffic accident as a matter of course in some cases — a fulfillment contract.
En Nabhan also noticed such a concept as the “legal triangle” that studies harm, cause and responsibility as its only points.
A person who by virtue of crossing the street at places other than the sidewalks, takes all the risks, and thus the injured parties, refusing to shift the blame to the driver when he adhered to all the traffic rules. At the same time, one driver of the car drove to the phone and was in the speed mode, and the courts can assign responsibility to both parties.
“We can say that if for reason our client is driving within the speed limit and a pedestrian suddenly crosses the street in front of the vehicle and an accident occurs, the courts may absolve the driver from liability — unless it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the negligence of the driver attributed in a significant way to the cause of the accident,” said Al Nabhan.
Thomas Edelmann, Founder & Managing Director of Road Safety UAE, for all new laws to be effectively operational, both the pedestrians and drivers are required to execute their responsibilities properly. It is suggested that pedestrians are sufficiently informed on the acceptable practices of crossing including the cessation of all activities that may lead to distractions and only using designated areas for crossings. On the other hand, it is imperative that motorists cum drivers obey traffic rules and take special care of the safety of pedestrians.
He cited the latest statistics from the Ministry of Interior for 2023 which indicated that there are several key issues regarding pedestrian road safety more publicity is needed, with 61 stupidly unnecessary deaths resulting from run-over doubts because of walking on roads deaths of pedestrians which represents 16 percent of total road deaths which are 352. It is also significant that all these injuries are not other people, 892 people sustained significant injuries during major road traffic accidents which was also 16 percent of other reported cases.
Edelmann also gave emphasis and underscored thus: “At the moment, additional infrastructure development makes it easy for pedestrians to cross the road without looking to get hurt, such as additional crossing and additional bridges for pedestrian use.”
Comments