Abu Dhabi: A federal body on Saturday recommended police detention of reckless motorists who drive at more than 50 per cent over the speed limit and reducing the speed limit buffer for heavy vehicles and taxis.
Theese recommendations were presented in a meeting of the Federal Traffic Council chaired by Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Also, it was decided to set up a federal traffic committee to develop a mechanism to license traffic accident experts in the UAE.
Shaikh Saif urged the council to make every possible effort to enhance road safety and ensure the safety of all road users. In May, Abu Police said over 1,800 motorists were caught driving over 200km/h in the capital.
Last week, the police said motorists will no longer receive a 50 per cent discount on traffic fines for offences committed in the emirate. The discount, which is automatically applied when residents pay their fines, will not apply for any violations that are recorded from August onwards, although the discount will stand for offences registered before that.
In May, Gulf News reported that the emirate witnessed a 42 per cent jump in traffic-related fatalities in the first four months of the year alone. A total of 77 traffic deaths occurred in the first quarter of 2016, compared with 54 traffic deaths during the same period last year. There were also 489 traffic accidents recorded in the same period, compared with 477 last year.
During the meeting on Saturday, Shaikh Saif discussed the council’s recommendations.
Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Operational Affairs and Director of Federal Traffic Council, briefed the minister. The recommendations included a proposal to detain motorists who drive at a speed more than 50 per cent over the official speed limit as it endangers the lives of road users, a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior said.
In another important suggestion, it was proposed to amend the maximum speed limit buffer for heavy vehicles, taxis and buses to 10km/h instead of 20km/h. That means, vehicles driving over 110km/h on a road where the speed limit is 100km/h can be fined.
The council has also propsed registering rented cars fines not later than 30 days from the date of issuance. All fines entered after the aforementioned period will be null and void.
It also discussed raising the age limit for driving motorcycles to 18 for 200cc motorcycles and 21 for over 200cc engines.
The meeting also discussed unifying traffic fines and abolishing the manual system.
