All buses, trucks in UAE to have mandatory speed limiters: MoI

Reports suggest that the UAE Ministry of Interior has accepted a proposal by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology (Esma) to make speed limiters mandatory for all commercial vehicles.

Earlier, speed limiters were made mandatory for the UAE’s mini buses, and their owners were given a deadline of March 2013 to comply with it. By now, most of the 60,000-odd mini buses plying on UAE roads have such speed limiters installed. The maximum speed limit set by the Ministry for mini buses is 100kmph.

“A tragic accident in Al Ain that killed 24 workers and injured many highlighted the need to implement speed limit for mini buses transporting workers,” said Mohammed Ashraf, Managing Director of Autograde, a company that manufacturers and markets speed governors in the UAE.

A Road Speed Limiter (RSL) is a device whose primary function is to control the fuel feed to the engine, in order to limit the vehicle speed to a pre-set value. Whenever that speed is exceeded, a sensor integrated in the vehicle decreases the fuel flow to the engine and eventually reduces the speed of the vehicle, he explained.

Autograde’s device has been approved by the Road Transport Authority and the Ministry of Interior. Introducing speed limiters in commercial vehicles will mean that drivers of such vehicles will not be able to over speed, even if they wish to. “Many accidents are caused by over-speeding. This is why the UAE Ministry of Interior has made it mandatory for mini buses to install speed governors,” he added.

Speed limiters also help in reducing fuel consumption by keeping the vehicle in optimum speed zone. Moreover, control over speeding means reduced need for braking, less vibration, less engine strain, and less wear and tear. Additionally, speed limiters result in optimum performance of the engine, resulting in ideal firing with minimum exhaust gases, thus reducing air pollution.

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