Dubai: If you are following traffic instructions and haven’t incurred a fine for a year, you might soon be fortunate enough to be stopped by a secret police car and given vouchers and prizes on the spot, police said on Thursday.
Colonel Jamal Al Bannai, deputy director of the Traffic Department in Dubai Police, said that as part of the white points system for motorists who have not committed any traffic rule violations in Dubai for a whole year, they have launched a new initiative to reward motorists on the spot.
“We will randomly pick cars and check if the driver has a clean record for a whole year. Then we will follow him discreetly in the secret car for some time to see if he is following the traffic rules and stop him to reward him on the spot for following the law,” Colonel Al Bannai said.
But you don’t need to be driving to be stopped on the road and rewarded. Dubai Police can also pleasantly surprise you while inside a shopping mall. “We will choose a motorist in the shopping malls in Dubai and check their traffic profile. If they haven’t had a traffic fine for a year, they will receive rewards and prizes,” Colonel Al Bannai added.
The two new initiatives will be implemented in the coming months.
Meanwhile, 2,000 out of 26,740 eligible motorists have been chosen for this year’s white points system, which was launched in 2012 by Dubai Police. Motorists who have valid driving licences issued from Dubai with vehicles registered in their names can qualify for the white points system.
“We had 700 winners in the first year and now we have 2,000 winners,” said Col Al Bannai. The winners include 1,344 men and 656 women.
“The white points system has been created to encourage motorists to follow traffic rules and reduce the number of accidents and deaths. It is part of our strategy to reach zero road deaths by 2020.”
Each eligible person can receive a total of 24 white points a year, two for each month. The points will be calculated at the end of each year. A motorist loses his or her entitlement to the month’s points if he/she has any kind of traffic rule violation recorded during that month regardless of whether the vehicle is driven by the owner or not.
Winners are chosen from those who do not have any traffic fines, including Salik and parking fines.
Among the 2,000 winners, there will be a draw for two cars for two lucky winners.
Emiratis top the list
Among the 2,000 winners, Emiratis topped the list with 500 winners, followed by 315 Indians, 150 British and 147 Egyptians.
