Dubai: More than 9,000 light and heavy vehicles were fined within five days of enforcement of a new regulation on restricting certain vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by 10km per hour.
The new regulation which came into force at the beginning of this month, registered a staggering number of fines, said Major General Mohammad Said Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police Traffic Department.
According to Al Zafein, in just the first three days, 894 fines were issued for minibuses and taxis, while 7,352 were issued for buses and trucks.
The regulation applies to trucks, buses and light vehicles such as pick-up trucks, minibuses and taxis as they face severe punishment if they exceed the speed limit by 10km per hour. Other motorists have been given a grace limit of 20km per hour. A fine of Dh500 is issued if they exceed this limit.
However, if the regulation proves to be a success in curbing the number of fatalities and accidents, as speeding is the major cause of accidents, the regulation will be applied to all kinds of vehicles.
Efforts
The Dubai Police traffic department is continuing its efforts to reduce road fatalities with new regulations coming into effect every now and then, despite the drop in the rate of accidents and fatalities. The new hand-held radar gun is used to fine minibuses, taxis and pick-ups, while the mobile radar is used for heavy trucks and buses. The 14-hand-held radars are monitored by traffic police officers who filter out fines in case the radar registers vehicles which do not fall within the parameters of the new regulation.
Within the first five days, the hand-held radar registered 1,586 fines, out of which 901 were for regular light vehicles. These fines will be filtered out from the total as they don't fall within the categories mentioned in the regulation.
The radar gun fined 229 taxis, 203 minibuses, and 253 pick-ups. While, the 17 mobile radars registered 8,833 fines for heavy trucks and buses. The new regulation is currently implemented on high speed roads such as Shaikh Zayed road, Emirates road, Al Ain-Dubai road, Al Khail road and Business Bay Bridge.
"Only vehicles which exceed the defined speed limit are fined. The fines will be issued by our patrol units who are using the new hand-held radar along with mobile radars," Al Zafein said.
Do you think the decrease will reduce the number of accidents in the UAE? What else do you suggest to make roads in the UAE safe?
