Dubai: An elderly tourist lived to tell the tale after jaywalking across 12 lanes on Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai.

Though he escaped without a scratch, the Arab man in his 60s caused several accidents as vehicles rammed into each other trying to avoid him, Dubai Police said.

Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Mohammad Saleh, deputy director of Bur Dubai Police station, described the incident as suicidal.

“He tried to save time by avoiding using the pedestrian footbridge and decided to cross the road despite seeing speeding vehicles and the concrete road divider. It was suicidal of him to cross the road from an non-designated spot,” Lt Col Saleh said.

Major Fouad Hussain, head of Traffic Registration Section in Bur Dubai police, said the elderly man crossed six lanes, climbed over the barrier and then crossed the other six lanes to reach the other side of the highway.

“I can’t imagine someone crossing so many lanes without expecting an accident,” Maj Hussain said.

Eyewitnesses who saw the elderly man risking his life later stopped him and called Dubai Police, who arrived on the scene and questioned the man.

“[The man] claimed that he didn’t know it was illegal to cross from non-designated areas. He is visiting the country with his family,” Maj Hussain added.

Police contacted his family and asked them to come to the station to take the elderly man back with them after he was made to sign a document.

Police requested the family to be by his side at all times when going out.

“This is not the first time we have caught a jaywalker on a highway; we have had incidents of people crossing roads with speed limits up to 140km/h,” Maj Hussain added.