Cyclists say new laws put a spoke in their wheel

Cyclists at the Nad Al Sheba track. — KT photos by Mukesh Kamal

Dubai - Could cycling become the UAE’s preferred mode of transport? Will people give up cars and bicycle their way to work, educational institutions, and other places, thereby reducing traffic congestion and improving quality of health among residents? Given the weather condition of the UAE, this would not be possible throughout the year, but there is more and more interest in the sport and the government is definitely making cycling a more accessible sport. However, cyclists are of the opinion that newly introduced laws could deter them from taking up the sport more seriously.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) recently clarified that bicycles can be used on community roads only if the roads lack dedicated tracks and their speed limit is less than 60km/hour and breaking this rule will result in a fine of Dh300. Cyclists can also be fined Dh500 for riding on roads with speed limit exceeding 60km/hour. A total of seven fines were introduced in April 2015.

However, some of the cycling enthusiasts in Dubai opined that the newly introduced laws make Dubai a lot less cycle friendly, even though it keeps in mind the safety of the rider.

“We understand that the laws were made keeping in mind the safety of the riders, but both the police and the RTA must be lenient towards cyclists. Too many fines will discourage people from the habit,” said an Emirati, Humood Mohammed. “The problem is that drivers in the UAE are not used to cyclists. We don’t know how to behave with them and the cyclists are not used to drivers,” added Mohammed. He has been cycling for the last three years and practises at Al Qudra, and the Nad Al Sheba cycling track. Mohammed invested over Dh52,000 on his bike and cycles at least three days a week at the 13.5km track in Nad Al Sheba.  

Motorists not used to cyclists

Seasoned cyclists like Marc Adam, a Canadian national, who has been residing in Dubai since February this year, said that the rules should be tailor-made in a way that the roads become potentially safer for cyclists. He has been cycling for 15 years. He said: “I can understand if they fine cyclists for attempting to cycle on the busy highways like the Shaikh Zayed Road. Big group of 30 cyclists or more are perfectly safe on a road of over 60km/hour if they have a support vehicle travelling with them, to protect them. American national David Rath, who has been riding for over 20 years, said: “There are many roads here with a speed limit of over 100 km/hour that are perfectly safe for cyclists if there is a dedicated track for cyclists. Dubai is a wonderful city for cycling and the laws are made keeping in mind the safety of the cyclists.”

He added: “The municipality is trying to change the way things work here, but motorists are still not used to cyclists.” Hummad Mohammed added: “Maybe in the next five years, cycling will become a mainstream mode of transport in the UAE, given we have more tracks to cycle on.”

 Khaleej Times also caught up with Wolfi Hohmann, general manager of Wolfi’s Bike Shop. “Cyclists would like newer tracks. I have heard a lot of seasoned cyclists talk about linking Dubai to Abu Dhabi along the coast line. The idea of linking all traffic signals is something that will give cyclists hundreds of kilometres of dedicated tracks,” Hohmann said.

Tracks and trails

With more and more cycling tracks coming up in Dubai, cyclists said that it boils down to what people want. “If you’re looking for a casual, relaxed spin then you have the cycle lanes in Jumeirah and also the Byky’s around downtown and the Marina. Then you have the cycle track at Nad Al Sheba, a 7.5km loop and 4km loop ideal if you want to maybe do some faster riding in small groups or even a great training ground for cyclists and triathletes. If you are looking for a place that can offer you a range of distances to cycle then you have Dubai Cycling Course at Al Qudra. Here you have a bespoke track that has been expanded to offer cyclists around 130km of cycling course,” added Hohmann.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com