Dubai driver ordered to pay Dh7,500 over traffic fines row

Dubai: A Dubai civil court has ordered a motorist to pay Dh7,500 to a vehicle owner after finding him liable for traffic fines and Salik toll charges accumulated while the vehicle was under his possession.

The court also ordered the defendant to bear court fees and expenses, while rejecting separate claims seeking Dh15,000 in compensation for alleged damage to the vehicle’s market value and dismissing a request to transfer 35 black traffic points to the defendant’s traffic file.

According to court documents, the dispute began after the registered owner claimed he had entered into an verbal agreement with the defendant for the sale of the vehicle. Under the agreement, the defendant was allegedly required to settle all outstanding traffic violations linked to the vehicle and transfer ownership of a damaged vehicle wreck in exchange for receiving ownership of the car.

The owner told the court he handed over the vehicle to the defendant based on mutual trust and their friendly relationship. The defendant then took possession of the vehicle and began using it. However, the claimant alleged the defendant failed to honour the agreement by neither paying the fines nor transferring the vehicle wreckage as promised.

Court records showed that despite repeated attempts by the owner to arrange the official ownership transfer, the defendant allegedly refused to cooperate. During the period the vehicle remained in the defendant’s possession, additional traffic violations and Salik toll charges amounting to Dh16,050 were recorded against the vehicle, along with 35 black traffic points.

The claimant argued that because he remained the registered owner of the vehicle, he suffered direct financial harm as a result of the traffic violations and alleged accidents committed while the defendant was driving the car. He also sought Dh15,000 in compensation for what he described as a decline in the vehicle’s market value caused by the alleged accidents.

To support his claims, the owner submitted copies of the vehicle registration, records of traffic violations and WhatsApp conversations exchanged between the parties.

The defendant failed to appear before the court despite being legally notified, prompting the court to issue its judgment in absentia.

In its ruling, the court cited provisions of the UAE Civil Transactions Law, which state that any person who causes harm to another is liable to compensate for that damage. The court noted that civil liability requires proof of fault, damage and a direct causal link between the two.

The court found that the defendant had actual possession of the vehicle and had acknowledged in WhatsApp conversations that he would pay the violations. The court considered this acknowledgment sufficient evidence that the defendant was responsible for the traffic fines and Salik charges incurred during the period he possessed the vehicle.

However, after reviewing the evidence, the court ruled that the proven financial damage amounted to Dh7,500 and ordered the defendant to pay that amount to the claimant.

The court rejected the claimant’s separate request for Dh15,000 in compensation related to alleged damage to the vehicle’s market value, ruling that the claimant had failed to provide sufficient evidence proving the accidents or the claimed financial losses.

The court also dismissed the request to transfer the traffic violations and black points to the defendant’s traffic file, explaining that violations remain legally attached to the registered owner recorded in official licensing authority records at the time the offences are committed and cannot be amended retroactively.