Dubai: "My wife is about to have a baby, please cancel my speeding tickets."
That's the excuse offered by a motorist who was fined six times for speeding on Dubai roads in a space of 30 minutes.
He claimed his wife was delivering a baby and that he needed to reach the hospital in time for the delivery, Dubai Police said.
Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Dubai Police’s Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Operations, said the motorist came to Dubai Police asking that his speeding tickets be deleted.
“He claimed that his wife needed to reach the hospital as soon as possible to deliver the baby. He couldn’t wait for an ambulance. He provided enough evidence about his situation and apologised for his behaviour. We understood his reasons and decided to delete the speeding tickets,” Maj Gen Al Zafein said.
Dubai Police said, however, that many motorists come to them with different reasons for speeding — but they need to prove their case.
Maj Gen Al Zafein said some motorists commit traffic offences due to emergencies. “We understand their reasons, especially if someone wants to reach a hospital if it’s a matter of life and death.”
However, he said that some motorists fail to provide evidence on why they had to resort to reckless driving. “One of the strangest cases was of a man who committed seven traffic offences in a matter of minutes. He claimed that he wanted to reach his father’s funeral, but failed to prove the circumstances. His traffic offences were not pardoned. It wasn’t logical that a person wouldn’t know about the timing of his father’s funeral and break the traffic law [in order to reach the place],” Maj Gen Al Zafein said.
Dubai Police urged the public to use vehicles like ambulances in case of emergencies because it is faster than travelling in other modes of transport.
Meanwhile, Dubai Police confiscated 1,628 driving licences of motorists who exceeded the maximum limit of traffic points last year.
