Dubai: Two Emirati winners under the white points system, a reward for motorists who have not committed traffic violations for an entire year, were given cars by Dubai Police on Sunday.
One winner said she would donate her prize to a charity.
On Sunday, Lt Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, handed the car keys to their new owners at Dubai Police headquarters.
This year, Emirati Dr Fatima Darwish Al Emmadi, was the winner of the grand prize, a Hyundai Veloster, and Khowla Waleed Al Marzouqi, also Emirati, won a Hyundai Sonata, which was the newly introduced prize for motorists aged 18-21, both courtesy of Hill advertising.
Motorists who have not committed any traffic violations for an entire year and collect 24 so-called ‘white points’ have been rewarded every year by the police since 2013.
A total of 1,800 safe motorists were awarded various gifts, including gift vouchers this year, an increase from 1,500 last year.
Al Emmadi said that she had been driving since 1995, and that she always tries to avoid any traffic violations. “I have made a few mistakes in previous years, but this year I had a clean slate,” she said.
She added that she will be donating the car to charity, “We have many accredited charity organisations in the country, but I chose to donate it to the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment because I admire and respect [His Highness] Shaikh Mohammad [Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai].”
“I really hope all motorists, especially the youth, drive safe — it’s for their own safety, not just that of others. I hope this programme is an incentive for them to do that,” she said.
Al Marzouqi’s father, Waleed, received the prize on her behalf. He said she already has a car, but what she does with this car is completely her choice.
“Khowla has been driving for a year, since she was 18, and she has never got any fines even though she drives a lot, not just in Dubai but to other cities and on highways,” he said.
He said that as a family they have instilled safe driving habits and abiding by traffic rules in their children. “When they are driving they put their phones on silent and do not use it at all, even to answer our calls. If they find multiple calls from me or their mother, they park on the side and call us back,” he said, emphasising the danger of using the phone while driving.
Of the 1,800 winners, 1,090 were men and 710 women. The top five nationalities among the 1,800 who will be awarded over the next month are Emiratis (400), Indians (332), Egyptians (147), Pakistanis (98) and British (96).
Lt Gen Al Mazeina thanked Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his patronage adding, “Abiding by traffic rules and regulations is one of our main priorities. We hope that most drivers abide by traffic rules and drive safely.”
Col Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of Dubai Traffic Police, said, “I can say this is the first of a kind initiative, as most countries punish violators but do not think of awarding the law-abiding motorists. This initiative thanks those who drive safe and do not put their lives or the lives of others at risk and encourages to keep doing that.”
Eligibility
Motorists who have a valid driving licence issued from Dubai with the registration licence of the vehicle owned by the same driver can qualify for the white points system.
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 on being involved in any kind of traffic violation during that month regardless of whether or not the vehicle was driven by the owner.
A motorist can also lose his or her accumulated white points on being involved in a huge traffic violation in the same year.
Winners are chosen from those who do not have any traffic fines, including Salik and parking fines.
