Dubai: Motorists who had not committed any traffic violations in any of the emirates for a whole year and have collected 24 so-called “white points” will be rewarded with prizes and vouchers by Dubai Police.
Some 1,500 motorists out of 18,000 eligible ones were chosen for this year’s white point system, which was launched three years ago by Dubai Police to reward motorists who do not commit any violations.
In a press conference on Thursday, Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Operations’ Affairs and Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council (FTC), said there has been an increase in the number of winners over the years, which indicates the system is growing bigger every year.
“The white points system was implemented by Dubai Police to encourage motorists to follow traffic rules, become safer drivers and to also reduce the number of accidents and deaths in the city. Eight years ago there were 21 deaths per 100,000 residents, last year the number dropped to three deaths per 100,000 residents, and by the end of the year we want to reduce this to 2.5,” he said.
Through such campaigns, he believes, they might be able to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities.
Major General Al Zafein pointed out that since the start of the campaign, the number of winners has kept increasing. “We had 700 winners in the first year, 1,000 in the second and now we have 1,500 winners who deserve to be rewarded for following traffic rules and indirectly taking part in promoting safe driving.”
The winners include 850 men and 650 women, he said.
The white point’s electronic system has been collecting data of motorists and helping decide the winners since it was launched. Motorists who have valid driving licences issued from Dubai with the registration license 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 if the vehicle was driven by the owner or not.
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.
Maj Gen Al Zafein said winners this year are from different nationalities.
Emiratis topped the list with 300 winners, followed by 218 Indians, 124 British, 83 Egyptians, 66 Canadians, 40 Syrians and others.
“Out of 18,000 eligible motorists, only 1,500 were winners, but this does not mean they won’t get anything in return for their safe driving. They can approach us anytime to cancel a simple fine, an impoundment, cancel their previous black points, or even get a certificate of appreciation from us,” he said.