Abu Dhabi introduces minimum speed limit of 120km/h on major highway

Motorists in Abu Dhabi will be fined 400 Dirham ($AU162) from next month for failing to drive at a minimum signposted speed of 120km/h.

The new minimum speed limit along a 62-kilometere stretch of the four-lane Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Road came into effect in April 2023 with fines set to be levied against law-breaking motorists from 1 May 2023.

According to a report in The National, a UAE news outlet, the new minimum speed limit has been designed to encourage slower moving vehicles to keep to the right-hand lanes (the United Arab Emirates is a left-hand drive region) allowing for faster moving traffic to travel unimpeded long the motorway’s left lanes..

The 120km/h signposted minimum speed limit applies to the two left-hand lanes of the four-lane highway that links the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The maximum speed limit across all four lanes is 140km/h. Heavy vehicles, however, must remain in the farthest right lane and can only travel at a maximum of 80km/h.

“Implementing the minimum speed is aimed at boosting road safety. It will urge slow vehicles to use appropriate lanes,” said Abu Dhabi Police ‘s Director General, General Al Muhairi.

Abu Dhabi Police conducted an online poll ahead of the introduction of minimum speed limits and found that 78 per cent of the approximately 3400 respondents were in favour of the new law.

Photos from Abu Dhabi Police social media.