Dubai: A 20-year-old man will pay Dh500,000 to fix the road that he damaged by driving recklessly and making dangerous manoeuvres.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said the amount was in addition to the fines he was issued.
“The amount was calculated by the Roads and Transport Authority [RTA]. This will teach him and people like him to abide by traffic rules,” he said.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina added that there is a small group of people who think it is OK to drive recklessly and try out dangerous moves on public roads, but the police force will not let them get away with it as there are laws and regulations in place.
“If someone feels the need to speed and drive dangerously, they can do so on a racing track. They cannot go around damaging public property and endangering people’s lives. The UAE government has invested millions to provide the people with this infrastructure,” he said.
Adding that such behaviour is unacceptable and uncivilised, he said, “What would people say when they see skid marks all over the roads — that we live in an uncivilised society?”
Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Dubai Traffic Police, said there were multiple complains about a noisy vehicle whose driver was doing dangerous manoeuvres.
“The young man was also posting videos of his ‘moves’ on Instagram and social media, and it was circulating everywhere. We had videos of his driving recklessly in January and later in April, on Al Qudra and Meydan roads,” Col Al Mazroui said.
The Emirati man was called in by the police, and was confronted with the footage of him doing “doughnuts” and other stunts.
The man’s driving licence was confiscated, his car impounded and he was issued two fines for reckless driving and driving a noisy vehicle, in addition to the Dh500,000 he will have to pay to fix the road.
“We have a special task force called ‘Isnad’ that tracks down those dangerous and reckless drivers,” Col Al Mazroui explained. Isnad means ‘support’.
He said that they have noticed that such reckless driving behaviour becomes more frequent when movies about cars are released in the cinemas.
Al Khawaneej and Al Tai area are known as hotspots for reckless drivers as the roads tend to be empty most of the time, he said.
Col Al Mazroui urged the public to report anyone who breaks traffic laws, either by calling 901 or 8007777 or 8004353 or through email on mail@dubaipolice.gov.ae.
People can also report anyone breaking Dubai’s traffic law on the Dubai Police website or through Dubai Police’s smartphone app under “we are all police”.
