Abu Dhabi: With the latest amendment to the federal traffic law, traffic departments in all seven emirates are in a position to allow 50 per cent discount on traffic fines, a senior interior ministry official told Gulf News on Thursday.
However, the departments in each emirate will be responsible for deciding whether reducing fines should be extended to all motorists or if the discount should be decided on a case by case basis.
Up until last week, motorists across the UAE received the discount only if the traffic court ruled in their favour after reviewing their individual case.
The ministerial decree, No.400/2010, issued by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has made a provision in the law for traffic departments in all emirates to extend the traffic fines discount to all offenders should they wish to do so, said Brigadier Gaith Hassan Al Za'abi, Director of Traffic Department, Ministry of Interior.
Reduction
It is within the authority of each traffic department to decide on the reduction based on what they deem appropriate, he said.
From June 27, making use of the decree, the traffic departments in Abu Dhabi (inclusive of Al Ain and Gharbia) started extending the discount to all motorists. No other emirate has yet made any official announcements about extending the discounts to all.
Brigadier Al Za'abi said that the discount has been designed to encourage drivers to comply with the traffic laws and not to repeat offences once again.
"The fines are issued with the aim of reducing road accidents because it claims hundreds of lives and injures thousands of people annually, and not as a means to collect money."
He appealed to drivers to follow the legal speed limit on the roads and not to commit offences.
A 50 per cent discount on traffic fines is now applicable to all fines issued in Abu Dhabi. Vehicles registered in other emirates, which incurred traffic fines issued by the Abu Dhabi police, will also benefit from the discount, a traffic police official said.
But check measures will soon be put in place to make sure the leniency does not encourage repeat offenders. Serious traffic offenders will not be given the reprieve, once these check measures are implemented.
