Abu Dhabi: A recent ministerial decree has granted priority right of way on the road to a number of categories, including vehicles of doctors providing emergency response services at hospitals, and accredited health authorities in the country, with the aim of accelerating the pace of saving patients and ensuring public safety.
Ministerial Resolution No. (481) of 2026 regarding the priority of traffic on the road for vehicles providing essential services, published in the Official Gazette, includes granting emergency responders within medical services specific exceptions from some traffic violations while heading to urgent calls. They are allowed to exceed the legal speed limit on external roads by no more than 40 km/h above the allowed speed, in addition to using the shoulder of the road and the lanes designated for emergency vehicles in cases of congestion or traffic stoppage, as well as the possibility of using the bus lane.
The decision clarified that priority right of way for doctors is limited to cases that require a rapid medical response, including emergency medical cases, or when a doctor is urgently summoned from one emirate to another. The process requires informing the competent operations room immediately after providing the service, and obtaining priority clearance is managed by the traffic control authority.
To obtain this licence, the doctor must be among the vital medical specialties listed in the service system and approved by the established committee, and must pass a training course approved by the traffic control authority or the licensing authority, with the necessity of having a valid medical license in the United Arab Emirates.
Conversely, the decision emphasised strict obligations that drivers authorised to use right-of-way benefits must adhere to. These include not exceeding the speed limits posted near schools, hospitals, and residential areas, and not using approved warning signs without first obtaining a right-of-way permit.
The decision also categorically warned against running red lights due to the serious accidents that can result from it, and mandated that medical personnel yield the right-of-way to emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, civil defence vehicles, and official convoys while they are on duty.
It stressed that the provisions stipulated in this decision do not exempt the vehicle driver from traffic, criminal or civil liability resulting from the vehicle driver’s use of the right of way on the road.
