The UAE prepares for a new school year with over a million students returning amid strict enforcement of updated traffic laws focused on maintaining safety around schools.

The new academic year 2025-2026 is set to commence tomorrow, Monday, across the United Arab Emirates. Schools are prepared to welcome one million students with operational and educational readiness in full swing. Various authorities have meticulously planned to implement the highest standards of security and safety for schoolchildren.


As schools reopen, renewed warnings concerning traffic violations associated with them emerge. The updated traffic law in the UAE, which came into effect last March, strives to enforce the utmost road safety standards through its amendments.

These amendments include significant penalties aimed at ensuring discipline and fostering adherence to road safety rules, effectively eliminating reckless behavior that could endanger students, drivers, or pedestrians.

Responsibilities of Vehicle Drivers

Drivers must adhere to the following:

1. Use the road safely without obstructing vehicle or pedestrian movement or causing accidents.

2. Refrain from parking vehicles on the road or sidewalk for repairs or stopping on thoroughfares.

3. Ensure pedestrian safety both on and off roads, especially in residential areas and near commercial centers, recreational spaces, places of worship, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities.

4. Pedestrians must not stand or cross thoroughfares except at designated spots. Under no circumstances should pedestrians cross roads with speed limits exceeding 80 kilometers per hour; they bear civil or criminal liability for non-compliance.

5. Avoid placing or throwing objects onto roads that may cause harm to them or their users, potentially hindering traffic flow.

6. Do not close any road without approval from traffic control authorities.

7. Any placement of traffic signs requires prior consent from licensing or traffic control authorities as specified by regulations outlined in this decree-law's executive guidelines.

Conditions for Vehicle Impoundment

The following conditions permit traffic authority personnel to impound a vehicle:
1. If a vehicle is found unfit for use due to missing requirements such as registration plates, silencers, functioning brakes, or adequate nighttime lights; it must remain off-road until defects are fixed-transportation requires towing if necessary-and all technical and legal requirements fulfilled before reuse.