There can be no excuse for drinking and driving in the UAE. And there can be no let-up by officials against immoral criminals who get behind the wheel of any vehicle while having consumed as little as a single alcoholic drink.
While the different emirates have their own individual rules over if, when and where alcohol can be bought, served and consumed, there is a single principle that applies to all: Drinking and driving with even as much as one sip of alcohol is against the law.
Those who flout this simple tenet need to face the full rigour of the law.
In Dubai, around 400 drivers are facing prosecution so far this year for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Rightly, a justice official has warned that these now face three years behind bars and a hefty fine of Dh30,000.
Across the western world, penalties for driving while drunk include automatic one-year suspensions, the fitting out of all future cars driven by convicted drunks with devices that measure breath before the engine will switch on, and automatic roadside confiscation of vehicles for simply blowing over the allotted limit after any traffic stop.
Drink and drive at your peril.
