Ras Al Khaimah: The Ras Al Khaimah police have introduced a new system for people intending to get a driving licence.

From Sunday, those applying for driving licences here will initially have to get registered with the RAK Driving Academy, which is in the final stage before its opening at the temporary premises in the Dhan area, said a top police officer.

Applicants will have to sit for eight lectures on traffic, after which they will have to take an oral examination and then take a driving training.

Colonel Nasser Muradad, who heads the emirate's Traffic and Licensing Department, said this will be applicable to all people seeking driving licences.

He explained that applicants interested in opening up traffic files to obtain driving licences will also be required to get registered with the RAK Driving Academy and sit for eight lectures in a training course on driving and traffic culture.

He stressed that passing the oral test will be a prerequisite for the driving training.

He added that the new RAK Driving Academy will be shifted to its permanent premises, just behind the emirate's Traffic and Licensing Department, once it is completed.

Field training

Colonel Muradad said the academy will currently serve the purposes of oral tests only, but in the coming months, the field driving training will also be introduced.

Each lecture at the academy will last for 70 minutes. Applicants attending the oral training course will be introduced to the traffic laws, rules and regulations, city driving and driving outside the cities, driving under various weather conditions.

Each applicant will have to pay Dh780 as course fee. Only after passing the oral tests, the applicant will be granted the certificate and will be referred to the emirate's Traffic and Licencing Department to start the field driving training.

Second chance

As per regulations, unsuccessful applicants in the oral tests will be given a second chance at the test. A committee would review the reasons for failure should the applicant fail the test for the second time as well.

The trainers will deliver the lectures in Arabic, English and Urdu. The emirate's Traffic and Licensing Department said two new mediums of instruction would soon be introduced in the academy.