Plan to create emergency ‘lane’ on main roads

The Municipal Council member Alia Al Farsi submitted a proposal regarding creating an emergency lane on the main roads (Emergency Corridor System) according to international standards and specifications, through cooperation between the municipality and the relevant departments in the Ministry of Interior, the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation, and the Ministry of Health.

In her proposal, Al-Farsi mentioned three items – the first is to allocate a lane on the main roads on which the emergency logo is placed. Second, if the road consists of two lanes in the same direction, vehicles in the left lane will retreat to the far left when the ambulance siren is heard, and vehicles in the right lane will retreat to the far right, creating the emergency corridor in the middle.Third, if the road consists of three or more lanes in the same direction, the vehicles in the far left lane must move to the left, and all vehicles in the right lane must move to the right immediately upon hearing the ambulance siren. She stressed the need to educate motorists on the strategy followed in this system.

In the preamble of her proposal, Al- Farsi referred to article 21 of law No. 33/2016 regarding the municipality and the municipal council’s jurisdiction to decide on projects and their urban locations and to beautify and expand cities, villages, suburbs, regions, islands, roads, streets, and squares.

She emphasized the difficulty of ambulances in arriving on time due to the lack of an emergency lane designated for ambulances on the main roads as well as due to the lack of a culture that regulates the movement of vehicles during emergency times in a way that allows ambulances to pass as quickly as possible to save patients.

She stressed the important role played by the municipality in approving projects and other expansions of streets and squares, as stipulated in law No. 33/2016, to preserve the safety of individuals’ lives.