Master plan for freight to be unveiled next week

The Multi-Modal Freight Master Plans, to be launched on February 4, will regulate and set standards for the freight industry.

ABU DHABI // The capital is to launch a master plan next week that will regulate and set standards for the freight industry.

The Department of Transport (DoT) unveiled on Tuesday its Multi-Modal Freight Master Plan which integrates road, rail, air and maritime freight transport services with key industrial locations, port and airport facilities. It is in line with the Surface Transport Master Plan and Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision.

“We are launching this master plan as part of our strategy to create safe, fair and efficient freight transport in the emirate of Abu Dhabi,” said Mohammed Nasser Al Otaiba, director of DoT’s freight division.

“We are working closely with the private sector and co-ordinating with the various entities including the National Transport Authority since the freight business involves the whole country as well.”

The DoT plans to implement the master plan through the four Ps - persuade people to change their behaviour, provide infrastructure and other public services, pressure people to positively change their behaviour and prescribe using regulations.

Road users’ safety is a top priority, and the master plan seeks to improve freight traffic to minimise lorry accidents by ensuring goods lorries are well-maintained and managed. It also aims to promote measures to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.

The Multi-Modal Freight Master Plan will be launched at the Park Rotana Hotel next week. There will be a presentation, workshops on preventing driver fatigue and on vehicle maintenance, and vehicle inspection demonstrations.

“Safety is one of the pillars of our freight master plan,” Mr Al Otaiba said.

The safety of lorries, the drivers, operators and the public, and the facilities provided by the freight sector are key issues.

“It is important to understand of the capability of human beings using these machines,” Mr Al Otaiba said. “We would like to make sure that it is healthy for the driver and very safe for the sector.”

A DoT study that ended in 2012 showed 17 per cent of the accidents in Abu Dhabi involved lorries, according to Mr Al Otaiba.

“There are international standards about driver fatigue and driving hours for lorry drivers. We have adopted and studied various examples from around the world,” he said. “We don’t want to adopt it as it is but we would like to do something for Abu Dhabi.”

This means allowing lorry drivers to take a short rest period during the journey, or a longer rest period at the end of their shift, he said.

“We want to make sure that the driving hours are respected, that it is understood by the private sector and is adopted in the facilities.”

In February last year, Brig Gen Hussein Al Harthi, head of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, said drivers should be properly rested, making sure they drive no longer than eight hours in one day to avoid fatigue.

“It is much more difficult for a tired driver to avoid accidents and have better response times on the roads.”

Dr Osama Adnan Tomeh, a consultant of freight planning at DoT, said lorry drivers should not bear the sole responsibility for accidents.

“It is the organisation employing him that has to take on that responsibility,” he said. “That is one aspect of safety that we are going to focus on at the launch of the master plan next week.”

The freight master plan will also ensure the availability of fuel stations for lorries and provide safe access to them.

“Today we have a problem with this issue so we also need to work closely with Adnoc and the freight sector to understand the capability we can provide in those locations,” Mr Al Otaiba said.

Other facilities include rest areas at motorways and distribution areas such as one in Khalifa Port, and weigh-in-motion stations to check gross vehicle weights, either at reduced or normal traffic speeds.