Drivers in black point scam trade penalties with others

Dubai: A new illegal trend has emerged among motorists, who trade their black points with motorists with clean records in return for a sum of money, Gulf News has learnt.

Some of the motorists who practice this trade spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity for fear of legal repercussions.

If a total of 24 black points are slapped on a driving licence, the licence gets confiscated.

A motorist said he recently did this by putting some of his black points on the family's driver's record as he collected many black points due to speeding.

"I do realise that the traffic department organises a series of lectures to help violating motorist cut down their black points. I just don't have the time to attend. The amount I pay for attending and reducing my black points I give it to the family's driver," he said.

Last year, the Traffic Department of Dubai Police has offered motorists who violate the rules a chance to remove some of their black points.

They can do so by attending lectures on road safety regulations and paying Dh100 per black point to avoid having their licences confiscated.

Last July the department initiated a course of four lectures dealing with the dangers of reckless driving and road safety regulations to help motorists.

The programme is beneficial for drivers who have a long history of violations and those who are close to the maximum 24 black points that will have their driving licences confiscated for three months.

Another motorist from Abu Dhabi said these lectures are not offered in Abu Dhabi and it's quite difficult for him to commute to Dubai. His friend's cousin agreed to take responsibility to a couple of violations.

"I did not hear of this phenomenon but it is possible to take place. It is difficult to prove who did the fine. If it is proven then a criminal case is registered. People involved in this trade are taking a big risk," Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said on Sunday.

Procedure

The customary procedure for motorists to have black points on their record is by signing an undertaking stating they committed a certain violation that incurs a black point.

In case of trading black points, if both parties agree on who was driving the vehicle at the time of the violation then an agreement has been established.

According to First Lieutenant Obaid Humaid Al Zari, Chief of Advanced Driver Training at the Traffic Department, most black points are incurred by truck drivers who fail to stick to their lanes.

The violations range from jumping a red traffic light and recklessly changing lanes to parking in undesignated areas.

But the most common reason for gaining black points is failure to maintain lane discipline and speeding.

What do you think of this issue? Is the number of black points an indication to a driver's lack of skill? Do you know of any rules that would help reduce traffic violations?