Warning lights to prevent road accidents during fog

The Abu Dhabi Police is considering a proposal to fit streets with incandescent warning lights to prevent traffic accidents resulting from fog on the roads.

The project is based on advance traffic accidents’ signage that warns motorists against accidents that may not be visible to them due to the density of the fog. The innovation, if implemented successfully, will serve as a preemptive measure to warn drivers to take caution at least three kilometres ahead of the area where a traffic accident has occurred.

Lt Colonel Nasser Al Maskari, Head of the Operations Department, said that the “innovation” doesn’t prevent traffic accidents, but contributes to timely preventing chain-reaction during foggy weather conditions, in order to preserve lives of road users and reduce hazardous accidents resulting from poor road visibility.

Osama Ahmed Ismail gave a detailed explanation on his submitted proposal: “It is a special incandescent light connected to a wireless electronic device controller, installed at a three-kilometre interval at roadsides of external roads. It releases an incandescent red light that is particularly designed to penetrate the fog. Drivers can see this warning light as far ahead, at least three kilometres ahead of potential traffic accidents.”

The Operations Room Officer controls the incandescent street light from a safe area ahead of the traffic accident’s location, 20 seconds after receiving notification on the 999 number, indicating that a traffic accident had occurred. The officer identifies the geographic coordinates of the accident’s site and turns on the electronic street lights close to the accident’s site on roads. This would warn drivers against a traffic accident ahead of them in order to avoid chain-reaction collision of vehicles, he added.

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