Dubai traffic fines discount scheme no longer active

Dubai: Dubai Police’s discount scheme on traffic fines is no longer applicable, Gulf News has learnt.

The initiative announced in February 2019 allowed motorists to get discounts on fines incurred, provided they didn’t commit any other traffic-related offence in the meanwhile.

In February 2020, Dubai Police extended the initiative, offering discounts of up to 100 per cent on accumulated traffic fines provided to drivers who did not commit any fresh traffic violation.

However, the discount scheme has been discontinued and motorists now need to pay the total amount of traffic fines incurred.

Gulf News readers said they were informed by Dubai Police’s call centre that the discount scheme ended in March 2020 during the national sterilisation programme, when motorists were allowed to renew their car registration without the need to clear their traffic fines.

“There currently aren’t any discounts on fines. Thank you for contacting us,” Dubai Police tweeted in reply to a Dubai motorist who had sought clarification on the discount scheme for traffic fines.

After the easing of movement restrictions and with the city going back to normal, motorists in Dubai now need to pay their traffic fines in full in order to register afresh or renew their existing car registrations.

Meanwhile, when the initiative was launched last year, motorists who would not commit traffic offences for three months (starting from February 6, 2019) were eligible for a 25 per cent discount on accumulated fines until February.

Those who would not commit traffic offences for six months, from February 6, 2019, were eligible for a 50 per cent discount. For nine months, a motorist would have got a 75 per cent discount and for a violation-free 12 months, a motorist would be entitled to a 100 per cent discount.

Dubai Police had said in February this year that a total of 557,430 drivers had benefitted from the discount initiative on their accumulated traffic fines worth Dh557.9 million.