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Free assistance from Abu Dhabi road patrols

A fleet comprising 30 new vehicles will begin patrolling the roads throughout Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 1st October.

The aim of the fleet is to offer roadside assistance and make sure that traffic flow continues to go smoothly and uninterrupted.

The cars are part of the Road Service Patrol (RSP), which falls under the management of the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).

The ITC road traffic management’s acting director Hamad Al Afifi says that the patrols originally began in 2009.

The yellow cars have become an accepted part of life in Abu Dhabi, and from Tuesday, the whole of the emirate will be covered by the new patrols, Al Afifi adds.

This coverage includes the main roads in Al Dhafra and Al Ain.

The scope of the roadside services has been increased, and the fleet size has been enlarged to accommodate 30 vehicles instead of just 13.

The new units are not yellow but white, and have orange and blue markings.

The big difference between the RSP roadside patrols and a number of other such services is that the RSP does not charge for its assistance.

Officers have training so that they can assist with the creation of efficient detours should cars break down on the roads, according to Al Afifi.

Officers can also help with traffic management at the site of big events, tow stalled vehicles away, and clear accident sites in order to prevent any more incidents.

On a more individual level, the patrols can also assist with changing tyres, recharging car batteries, and refuelling if a car ends up running out.

After contacting the RSP, the unit will arrive within no more than 15 minutes in order to provide necessary assistance.

The units have clearance times of no longer than half an hour.

Roadside delays are monitored by the RSP, which then deploys units when controllers believe that an incident could arise because of accidents or congestion.

However, the patrols can also be hailed by motorists via the Darb mobile application offered by the ITC or via its call centre.

The hotline of Abu Dhabi Police can also assist motorists to get in touch with the RSP.

The services provided by the RSP differ from those offered by Saaed, which is primarily responsible for generating traffic incident reports in regard to collisions.

Over 21,500 traffic services were provided by the RSP last year, and Al Afifi expects that number to only increase further when the service begins to cover a larger road network from this month on.

Anyone operating any kind of car or motor vehicle in Abu Dhabi or elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates is legally obligated to have taken out at least some form of car insurance.

Taking out car insurance is very much in the best interests of a driver.

Depending on the kind of coverage taken out, car insurance offers financial protection in the wake of vehicle damage, theft, personal injury and damage caused to other cars.