Protective barriers are to be placed in front of any restaurant or shop in Ajman that has a glass facade following the McDonald’s crash that killed two people this week.

Police and Ajman Municipality have teamed up to issue new rules that will see iron barriers erected across the emirate and bans put on people driving if they suffer from any disease that causes them to suddenly go unconscious.

On Sunday night, a 22-year-old Emirati driver suffered an epileptic fit at the wheel of his pickup truck and ploughed into a McDonald’s restaurant at an EPPCO station, killing a 45-year-old Asian woman and a 9-year-old Arab as well as injuring six others.

Brigadier Sultan Al Nuaimi, general commander of Ajman Police, said: “Precautionary and preventative measures were taken and have begun to be implemented, as the patrol and traffic department at Ajman Police has coordinated with the municipality through the traffic joint committee to compel all patrol stations, restaurants and cafes with glass facades to install iron barriers, in line with the main requirements of the new buildings licences.”

Brig Al Nuaimi added that sufferers of epilepsy or other conditions that can lead to seizures or blackouts should not put their lives and that of others at risk by driving.

He also reiterated the Ministry of Interior’s warning against taking photos of crash scenes and posting them online as it is an invasion of people’s privacy, it is disrespectful and a violation of human rights.

“We have started preparing a programme to alert all society members to refrain from the bad behaviours of publishing photos of the incidents, in addition to raising their awareness of the penalties that those who do would face,” Brig Al Nuaimi said.

Source: thenational.ae