Dubai: A British tourist who racked up traffic fines of Dh170,000 for speeding has also accumulated thousands of dirhams in rental charges, it emerged on Wednesday.
The co-owner of the Dubai-based car rental from where the 26-year-old tourist rented the Dh1.3 million Lamborghini Huracan on July 30 told Gulf News that he [tourist] needs to pay an additional Dh21,000 in rental charges.
Errant tourist
Faris Iqbal, a partner in Saeed Ali Rent A Car located in Deira, told Gulf News that they rent the supercar for Dh3,000 per day. The tourist had paid only two days’ advance when he rented the car.
Iqbal said his firm had not been able to contact the errant tourist.
“The tourist paid Dh6,000 for two days and left his passport as a guarantee. He still has the Lamborghini Huracan and hasn’t called us. We have tried to contact him, but he hasn’t responded. It is been nine days already. He needs to settle the rent and traffic fines,” Iqbal said.
British Embassy alerted
The tourist, who gave his address as Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel and Resort, still has the vehicle.
“I even informed the British Embassy about the incident,” Iqbal said.
Between 2.31am and 6.26am on July 31, the tourist drove on Shaikh Zayed Road at speeds as high as 231km/h, tripping 33 speed radars and incurring 33 fines in a span of just under four hours.
Radars
Dubai Police said radars capture the licence plate numbers of speeding vehicles, not the people driving them. This makes the car rental, which owns the supercar, liable to pay the traffic fines.
The police can impound the supercar if the rental fails to pay the fines.
Iqbal said that most of the speed radars on Shaikh Zayed Road caught the tourist as he drove between 158km/h and 231km/h in some areas without stopping.
