No 'pressing need' to lower age for licences

Dubai: The Head of the Dubai's Licensing Department said it is not advisable to lower the minimum driving age from 18 to 16 at present but did not rule out a rethink on the matter after a few years.

"We have done studies regarding the minimum age of a driver and have come to the conclusion that we are not ready to do this because we still need to educate our people and improve enforcement of traffic rules," said Engineer Ali Jasem, Director of the Licensing Department at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Earlier, Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of the Dubai Police's Traffic Department had proposed — in light of a study done by him — to reduce the legal driving age to 16 from the current 18. However, he made it clear that such a move should not be considered without first imposing certain conditions, such as at least 100 hours of practical training for such drivers.

Enforcement aspect

Jasem added: "Youngsters can be allowed to take driving lessons as young as 17 but they should be given the licence to drive only at the age of 18." Giving driving licences to 16 year olds is not an issue but "we should first have a mechanism in place to monitor such drivers after they get their licence and make sure they follow restrictions and drive safe", he said.

He said that such a proposal could be given due thought after a few years. "But only after we enhance the level of awareness focusing on the young people, educating them about risks involving ‘irresponsible' driving. There is also a need to improve enforcement of driving and traffic rules and regulations," he noted.

Jasem also observed that there was no compelling need for people as young as 16 to be given driving licences given that Dubai had already launched a comprehensive public transport system.

Maysa Rashid Gadeer, a member of the Federal National Council, said the proposal should be reconsidered because a 16 year old is still deemed a "child" under the supervision of parents and not mature enough to handle a vehicle wisely. "We can't allow a child to drive and put his life and lives of other road users in danger," she said, noting that such a decision, if implemented, would lead to several other complications including additional financial burden on parents in case of accidents.

A leading insurance company official said that lowering the age for drivers is a good initiative. "If a young driver starts driving under the supervision of his parents or other experienced driver for at least two years until he or she turns 18, the driver will have plenty of experience behind the wheel before he or she starts driving alone," said Alexis de Beauregard, Chief Officer — Marketing and Retail Product Offering at AXA Insurance Gulf.

Regarding insurance for such drivers, he said that it all depended on what kind of restrictions are set for such drivers.