Dubai Forums Dubai Tech Discussions Dubai Auto

Today's Front Page on 7 Days - 'You Drove Us To This!'

Police pull over 353 vehicles

99 driving licences seized

464 fines issued

16 vehicles impounded

First car impounded driven by British expat
Dubai’s top traffic cop said yesterday that punishing errant drivers on the spot was the most effective way to hold them “accountable”, as a fleet of unmarked police cars stopped almost one vehicle every minute for road violations during its first 48 hours on patrol.

Police also confiscated 16 vehicles and handed out more than dhs69,600 worth of fines. More than one hundred fines, almost one quarter, were issued for driving outside designated lanes.

Brigadier General Mohammad Al Zafeen, head of the traffic department admitted that police, so far, have not been successful in deterring reckless drivers.

“I believe that pulling drivers over is much more effective than simply paying fines by the end of the year. This way drivers know exactly what they did wrong and know they will be held accountable if they did it again,” he added.

The unmarked police car patrols are part of a campaign aimed at focusing police time and resources on road safety and enforcement of traffic rules after major administrative duties such as licencing were shifted to the Roads and Transportation Authority.

The covert cars patrol daily, across the city, between 7:30 and 10:30 am. Officers have also been ordered to pull over offenders that they spot whatever time they are on the road.

Among the first drivers to be pulled over - by Al Zafeen himself - was a young British expat driving without a valid vehicle registration.

“We confiscated the car because it has not been inspected in two years and is not safe to drive,” Al Zafeen said. A new law, which is believed to provide for tougher traffic fines that range between dhs800 and dhs3000, is expected soon, he revealed.

“The Interior Ministry is looking into current fines which are not perhaps enough deterrence for reckless drivers,” Al Zafeen said. “We are often accused of being no more than money collectors but if we tell you the road is monitored by radar and you still speed then you deserve to pay the fine.”

Tougher penalties also include taking away driving licences from truck drivers who run red lights or cause accidents due to negligence. “They won’t be allowed to drive for six months and will have to go through the testing process to regain their licences,” Al Zafeen said.

Excellent news.

This ought to be done as a routine not just as a one off.

And like the UK on different days and at different times.

“The Interior Ministry is looking into current fines which are not perhaps enough deterrence for reckless drivers,” Al Zafeen said. “We are often accused of being no more than money collectors but if we tell you the road is monitored by radar and you still speed then you deserve to pay the fine.”

Tougher penalties also include taking away driving licences from truck drivers who run red lights or cause accidents due to negligence. “They won’t be allowed to drive for six months and will have to go through the testing process to regain their licences,” Al Zafeen said.[/quote]

All good news for us road users on 2 and 4 wheels! They are going to take rogue truck drivers licences away(and their livlihood)...but what about the blacked out 4x4's or the souped up Honda Civics tear arsing up the inside lane and weaving in and out of the traffic at 200kmph.? We already know that the fines don't hurt them, but are they really going to be able to take the licences from some of the kids of the important families? What about the fools on unlicenced quad bikes, pulling wheelies along the Emirates Road with no helmets on? Confiscate the quad?..they just go and buy another. They don't have licences and they are not bothered about a fine...what then?


The Fords be with you...

Knight

Gulf News:

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_ ... 30499.html

Traffic police in unmarked cars fine offenders on the spot
By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter



Dubai: Abide by traffic rules or face a fine on the spot, a senior police official said on Monday.

Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said 32 police officers have started going on the roads from Sunday in ordinary vehicles to fine any motorist committing violations on the spot.

He said previously, the traffic department had two jobs, registering cars and traffic control. Now its job is focused on traffic control because car registration has been put under the jurisdiction of the Roads and Transport Authority.

"The police officers whose jobs were administrative jobs now have administrative and field jobs," Brigadier Al Zafein said.

He said the police officers will go on the roads from 7:30am to 10:30am daily in ordinary vehicles. If they spot a motorist committing any kind of offence, they will put the alarm device on the civil vehicle, stop the offender and fine him on the spot.

"Our goal is not issuing fines to people, but making the road environment a safe environment and spreading awareness about various issues such as wearing seatbelts," he said.

Brigadier Al Zafein pointed out to some specific offences that need to be addressed.

"Some motorists do not change their car number plates and still use the old ones, even for new cars. They must take the new number plates from the factory. We will give them one month to pick up the new number plates before starting to fine them," he said.

Brigadier Al Zafein stressed the importance of wearing seatbelts. He said it has been scientifically proven that if you are driving your car at the speed of 60km/hr, not wearing the seatbelt and had an accident, your chance of survival is 10 per cent, which means your chance of being injured or dead, is 90 per cent.

"We are working with the Interior Ministry on a law to make the seatbelts in back seats obligatory," Brigadier Al Zafein said.

He said the vehicle of any reckless motorist who exposes others to danger will be confiscated for two months.

Any truck driver who jumps the red signal or is found responsible for a "turnover accident", will have his driving licence cancelled and he will not get a second one for six months and will have to undergo a new test.

Monitoring of roads being intensified

A truck driver has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for jumping the red signal and causing confusion for road users.

As per the coordination between the Vehicle Tracing Section at the CID and the Traffic Control Department of Dubai Police, the Asian identified as, Sheva Narayan Ram, has been arrested and punishable procedures were taken against him as a result of his dangerous offence.

The procedures come as part of the Dubai Police General Headquarters efforts to intensify monitoring of roads and ensure motorists abide by traffic rules and do not endanger other road users as a result of negligence and carelessness of truck drivers who jump red signals.

Some of the offences included:

- Driving on the hard shoulder: 29

- Not abiding by lane discipline: 111

- Trucks not abiding by lane discipline: 20

- Expired registration: 12

- Takeover in a prohibited area: 17

- Not having reflectors: 8

- Trucks passing in prohibited roads and areas: 22

- Tinting: 11

- Blocking traffic: 36

My opinion for what its worth is this.

If the Police are deemed to be effective they actually have to "police".

In my humble opinion, i dont see why the police control or administer the registration system. This has nothing to do with "policing".

As you fellow brits know we have the DVLA, this is a government dept that deals with all issues relating to driver licences, car testing and taxation and number plates/registration.

I would hazzard a guess that in the UAE there are more police performing "admin" than being out there on the streets being "policemen".

Fantastic news! Let's hope they keep the fight against crappy drivers going for years to come.

kanelli wrote:Fantastic news! Let's hope they keep the fight against crappy drivers going for years to come.

This is probably no more than a publicity stunt.

yeah, probably just to placate everyone for a while.

kanelli wrote:yeah, probably just to placate everyone for a while.

Exactly... *sigh*