Dubai: Two lucky winners, instead of the usual one, won cars as part of Dubai Police’s White Points system thanks to a surprise move by Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum.
Shaikh Mansour surprised the audience on Sunday at the event by asking the committee to draw one more winner for another car that he will give away.
Emirati Laila Mohammad Mubarak was the first winner and she will receive a Hyundai Veloster, Atiq Mubarak Al Sabousi, also Emirati, will also be given a car by Shaikh Mansour, though the type of car is yet to be revealed.
Laila, 27, who works at a bank, said she thought someone was playing a prank on her when she received the call at 1pm on Sunday telling her she had won a car.
“They called me from the traffic department and at first I did not believe them. I thought someone was playing a prank, but when he said my full name I knew it was true. I am very happy and the first thing I’ll do when I get the car is take my parents for a drive in it,” Laila said.
Laila has been driving for six years and said she never gets fined as she believes in road safety and following traffic rules.
“People should be safe on the roads even without an initiative but I like the white points system as it encourages people to abide by the traffic rules,” she added.
She said she’ll be keeping her old car. “I won’t sell my old one. I love her!”
Al Sabousi, 55, who works at Dubai Customs, said he was “extremely happy” that he had won. “I want to thank Shaikh Mansour and all the shaikhs of the UAE.”
Al Sabousi described his driving as calm and said he does not like to speed or drive recklessly. “When I get the car I will take my family out,” he added.
The winners were chosen in a draw at a ceremony honouring sponsors of the White Points campaign at Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa on Sunday.
Laila and Al Sabousi are two of the 1,500 people who will be awarded over the next few weeks for not committing any traffic offences in 2014.
The White Point system rewards drivers with a valid driving licence issued in Dubai, who own one or more Dubai-registered vehicles. They are required to have no traffic offences, including Salik or traffic fines in other emirates, for at least a year.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said at the ceremony that since the launch of the campaign in 2012, they have been celebrating safe drivers who abide with traffic laws as they help raise the standard of road safety.
“This initiative is helping with Dubai Police’s goal of reaching zero deaths for every 100,000 people in 2020,” he said.
The other 1,498 winners will be awarded prizes such as cash gift vouchers and hotel stays.
All the winners receive 24 white points — two at the end of each month — that they can use to waive minor violations.
